Supreme Court again weighs Missouri's redistricting map dispute

Eighth Circuit backed new map as ballots already mailed

The U.S. Supreme Court is taking up Missouri’s congressional redistricting dispute for the third time in a month, after a federal appeals court sided with a new Republican-leaning map that the justices have already blocked twice.

The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday in favor of the map Missouri adopted this year, the same map the state used for its August primaries before courts struck it down. Opponents of adopting the new map asked the Supreme Court on Tuesday to weigh in again, arguing that ballots have already been sent out using the map and that a change at this late stage would create “chaos on both sides on Election Day.”

In its Monday ruling, the appeals court said that holding the November election under different district lines than those used in the August primary would be unconstitutional. Opponents of the new map argued that the disruption of reverting some voters to the older map would create problems, given that ballots already reflect the new districts.

If the Supreme Court does not take action, the lower court ruling will stand and take effect next week, directing Missouri to move forward with the new congressional map for the midterm elections and beyond.

Missouri’s redistricting effort followed a call from President Donald Trump for Republican-led states to redraw their congressional maps to pick up House seats and maintain a Republican majority. The call prompted both Republican- and Democrat-led states to redraw maps with partisan goals in mind.

Missouri’s new map most notably shifted congressional lines in Kansas City, turning a Democrat-leaning district into one more favorable to Republicans. Republicans hold six of Missouri’s eight U.S. House seats.

The Supreme Court has twice ruled against the new map, rulings that had cleared the way for Missouri to use the congressional map drawn in 2022, which the state also used in the 2024 election. Reverting to the 2022 map would move some voters into different districts than they voted in during the August primary, a prospect that map opponents argued raised concerns about voting rights.

Missouri held its primaries under the new map in August before courts struck it down. With the appeals court’s Monday ruling, the question now returns to the Supreme Court for what would be its third intervention in the case in a single month.