Missouri AG Appeals Block on Trump-Backed House Map as 1.2 Million Already Voted Under It
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Sep 5
Missouri AG Appeals Block on Trump-Backed House Map as 1.2 Million Already Voted Under It
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Sep 5
Summary
Catherine Hanaway on Friday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to immediately restore Missouri’s new congressional map for November, warning the state may not be able to run a timely federal election.
Tuesday is the deadline to change the November ballot, and Justice Brett Kavanaugh ordered opponents to respond by Monday after the Missouri Supreme Court barred the map unless voters approve it in a statewide referendum.
More than 1.2 million Missourians already used the new districts in last month’s primaries, but the state court said the post-2020 census map now governs the general election because opponents filed a valid referendum petition with over 300,000 signatures.
The GOP-drawn map was meant to help Republicans gain a 7-1 House edge by making Rep. Emanuel Cleaver’s Kansas City-area district more favorable to the party, part of a wider Trump-backed mid-decade redistricting push.
How will the U.S. Supreme Court balance a state's right to citizen referendums against strict federal election administration deadlines?
What contingency plans exist for local election officials if district boundaries are suddenly reverted weeks before the November vote?
Missouri’s 2026 Redistricting Crisis: Supreme Court Blocks Gerrymandered Map After Primary, Forcing Historic Ballot Referendum and National Legal Showdown
Overview
In September 2026, Missouri’s Supreme Court blocked a Republican-drawn congressional map after a citizen group, People Not Politicians, gathered over 300,000 signatures for a public referendum. This forced candidates, who had already won primaries under the new map, to run in the old 2022 districts, creating confusion and urgent work for local election officials. The court’s decision put the map’s fate directly to voters via Proposition A, sparking intense campaigns from both sides. Missouri’s case sets a national precedent, showing how citizen-led referendums can challenge gerrymandering even after primaries, and highlights the growing battle over direct democracy in redistricting.