The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Tuesday to intervene in a redistricting dispute in Missouri, rejecting an emergency request from Republican officials and candidates to enforce a newly drawn congressional map for the upcoming midterm elections. The decision, reported by NBC News, leaves in place a ruling by the Missouri Supreme Court that halts the use of the 2025 legislative map while a citizen-led referendum moves forward on the ballot.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh issued the order denying the application for a stay. By refusing to block the state high court’s decision, the federal judiciary effectively allows the previous congressional boundaries to remain in effect for the November general election. The ruling resolves a conflicting legal battle that had emerged after U.S. District Judge Stephen Clark ordered the new map to be used, creating a jurisdictional clash between federal and state courts.
The conflict centers on a 2025 redistricting plan passed by the Missouri Legislature, which was designed to shift the state’s congressional balance of power. The new map aimed to eliminate one Democratic-held seat, currently occupied by Rep. Emanuel Cleaver. Under the prior 2022 map, Missouri’s delegation consists of six Republican-held seats and two Democratic-held seats. If the Missouri Supreme Court’s ruling stands, that 2022 configuration will be used for the November vote.
The legal impasse began when People Not Politicians Missouri, a group led by Richard von Glahn, gathered signatures for a referendum to veto the Legislature’s map. Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins initially refused to place the measure on the ballot, waiting until the Aug. 4 deadline before rejecting the proposal. However, the Missouri Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the referendum petition was legal, sufficient, and timely.
Under state law, valid ballot initiatives override legislative action and suspend the contested law until voters decide its fate. The state high court determined that because the referendum is moving forward, the new map cannot be implemented for the general election. This decision directly contradicted Judge Clark’s ruling earlier in the week. Clark had sided with two GOP congressional candidates, Rick Brattin and Rep. Bob Onder, along with two voters who filed the lawsuit. Clark argued that using the old map would violate the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause and the constitutional provisions governing House elections.
Hoskins’ legal team urged the Supreme Court to intervene, arguing that the state court’s ruling violated the U.S. Constitution’s Elections Clause. They warned that allowing the referendum to block the new map would render the votes of hundreds of thousands of Missourians in the primary election pointless, as those primaries were conducted under the new boundaries.
The Supreme Court has previously rejected similar arguments regarding state court interference with federal elections. In 2023, the high court turned down a comparable claim in a North Carolina redistricting case. Additionally, in May of this year, the justices rejected an attempt by Democrats in Virginia to revive their own congressional map following legal challenges.
Despite the Supreme Court’s denial, Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe and Attorney General Catherine Hanaway had previously stated their intention to use the redrawn map for the November election. The state faces a tight timeline to finalize ballots, with a 5 p.m. local deadline approaching and the first ballots scheduled to go out on Sept. 19.
The case highlights the ongoing tension between state legislative authority, citizen initiative processes, and federal constitutional standards in redistricting battles. With the Supreme Court stepping aside, the outcome of Missouri’s congressional races will depend on the existing 2022 map unless further legal action occurs before Election Day.