JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – A long-running legal battle over Missouri’s congressional map took an intriguing turn recently. A federal appeals panel decided to back new congressional districts supported by former President Donald Trump, even though the U.S. Supreme Court has prevented these districts from being used in the upcoming November election.
The three-judge panel from the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Missouri should use the new Republican-drawn U.S. House districts for the November election, just as the state did in its August primary. According to the judges, reverting to the previous districts for the general election would violate the U.S. Constitution.
However, the ruling won’t take immediate effect. The panel ordered a lower court judge to delay enforcement for one week, allowing time for an appeal. Opponents of the new map have indicated they will file an emergency appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
This is not the first time the Supreme Court has ruled against the Trump-backed map. Earlier this month, the Court blocked a lower court order that favored the new map while considering a potential appeal.
As of now, Missouri is set to conduct its November election using the same congressional districts from 2024 and 2022, following decisions by both the Missouri Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Context of the Legal Battle
Local election officials have already sent absentee ballots to overseas citizens and military voters using the 2022 districts. State law mandates that absentee ballots should be available to all other voters by Tuesday. Local officials could theoretically scramble to change ballots, but if voters have already cast their absentee votes, they cannot change them, even if district boundaries shift.
Miller County Clerk Clinton Jenkins has already mailed absentee ballots to voters living abroad, but he advised others to wait a bit longer before requesting ballots, just in case the congressional district boundaries change again.
Changing districts at this late stage would be “practically impossible” and could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to the Missouri Association of County Clerks and Election Authorities in their legal filing. Yet, an attorney representing Republican plaintiffs argued last week that there is still time to revert to the Trump-backed map.
Appeals and Public Reaction
The appeals panel agreed with the notion that changes could still occur after absentee ballots have been distributed, referencing other cases where courts have ordered changes under similar circumstances.
The group People Not Politicians, which pushed for a referendum to put the new map to a statewide vote, announced plans to appeal the latest decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. Richard von Glahn, the group’s executive director, stated, “Ballots have been printed, and Missourians have already voted. Thousands more will vote before this order seeks to take effect. Officials should stop wasting taxpayers’ money on pointless legal action and instead focus on administering our elections.”
Constitutional Implications
The 8th Circuit’s decision has created a conflict between federal and state courts. The appeals panel stated that the Constitution does not allow Missouri to use a different congressional district map in the November general election than it did in the August primary.
This panel consists of Judge James Loken, appointed by former President George H.W. Bush, along with two Trump appointees, Judges David Stras and Justin Smith. Earlier this month, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled against using the districts created in September, stating that opponents had gathered enough petition signatures to call for a statewide vote on the new districts.
The Missouri Secretary of State, Denny Hoskins, had initially rejected the referendum petition, asserting that they are not permissible for congressional redistricting. However, the Missouri Supreme Court reversed this decision, mandating the use of the districts approved in 2022 for the November election.
Impact on Missouri’s Political Landscape
The new congressional map, backed by Trump, significantly alters a Kansas City-based district held by Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver. Republicans aim to leverage this map to gain seven out of the state’s eight House seats, one more than they currently hold. Cleaver was unopposed in the Democratic primary, while Rick Brattin emerged victorious in a multi-way Republican primary.
Overall, about 59% of the 5th District’s potential voters are new under the revised map, which affects over a million potential Missouri voters, or nearly 1 in 4 voters statewide, according to estimates from the Associated Press.
The ongoing redistricting battle in Missouri has been one of the longest and most complex among several states that sought to change their U.S. House districts over the past year. Typically, districts are redrawn at the start of each decade, following the census. However, Trump encouraged Republican-led states to undertake mid-decade redistricting last year to gain an advantage in the midterm elections that will determine control of Congress.
