Supreme Court blocks Missouri’s new congressional map for the third time
With absentee voting already underway, the justices ruled that Missouri will hold its November House elections under the 2022 district lines — not the Republican-drawn 2025 map.
What happened: The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday, September 25, stopped a federal appeals court order that would have forced Missouri to use its new 2025 congressional map in the November midterms. The unsigned, five-page opinion had no noted dissents, according to SCOTUSblog and the Associated Press.
The result: Missouri voters will choose their U.S. House members using the same districts drawn in 2022 and used in the last two elections, AP reported.
What the Court said: The justices wrote that, “as a matter of state law, the 2022 map—not the 2025 map—must be used in the 2026 congressional election.” They also stressed timing. “At this late date, ordering reversion to the 2025 map in the midst of an ongoing election would usher in electoral chaos,” the opinion said. The Court told the lower federal courts not to block the 2022 map or require the 2025 map this year.
How we got here: Missouri’s Republican-led legislature passed the new map in September 2025, at the urging of President Donald Trump and Gov. Mike Kehoe, AP reported. It was designed to help Republicans win a seventh of the state’s eight House seats, largely by reshaping the Kansas City district held by Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver.
Opponents, led by the group People Not Politicians, gathered more than 300,000 signatures to force a statewide referendum on the map, SCOTUSblog reported. Secretary of State Denny Hoskins rejected the petition on August 4 — the legal deadline and the day of the primary, which used the new lines.
On September 3, the Missouri Supreme Court unanimously ruled the petition valid. Under the state constitution, that means the 2025 map does not take effect unless voters approve it in November.
Republican candidates, including Rep. Bob Onder, then sued in federal court, arguing that switching maps between the primary and the general election violated the U.S. Constitution. A federal judge and later the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with them. The Supreme Court had already paused the district judge’s order on September 10. Friday’s ruling halted the appeals court’s follow-up decision.
Key term — the Purcell principle: This is the idea that federal courts should avoid changing election rules close to an election. The 8th Circuit had cited it in favor of the 2025 map. The Supreme Court disagreed, saying the principle limits last-minute federal court interference, and that the state’s own supreme court had not upset the status quo.
Who is affected: AP estimated that more than a million potential voters — nearly 1 in 4 statewide — had been shifted between districts during the legal fight. Absentee voting began Tuesday under the 2022 lines. Candidates chosen in the August primary, including Republican Rick Brattin in the 5th District, stay on the ballot even though their district boundaries changed back.
What’s next: The 2025 map itself is not dead. It goes before Missouri voters as a referendum in November and could take effect later only if voters approve it.
What this means: If you vote in Missouri this fall, your congressional district is the one drawn in 2022. Check your sample ballot with your local election authority — especially if you voted in the August primary, when different lines were used.
Sources
- Supreme Court of the United States — People Not Politicians v. Onder, No. 26A388 (Sept. 25, 2026)
- SCOTUSblog — For the third time, Supreme Court declines to allow Missouri to use congressional map expected to aid Republicans
- Associated Press (via PBS News) — Supreme Court rejects Trump-backed Missouri congressional map for third time
- Reuters — US Supreme Court bars Republican-drawn map in Missouri for third time