<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/supreme-court/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Supreme Court</a> was urged on Wednesday to restore a previous <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/missouri/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Missouri</a> congressional map for the November election, following a legal dispute in state and federal courts that has returned to the high court.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The group People Not Politicians, which successfully advocated for a Missouri congressional map passed in 2025 to be put to a referendum in November, filed an emergency petition to the Supreme Court. This petition requests the justices to halt a lower court order requiring Missouri to use the 2025 congressional map this year, which may result in Republicans gaining a seat in the House for the November election.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Last week, the Missouri Supreme Court <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/congressional/4713127/missouri-supreme-court-republican-map-midterm-ballot/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ruled</a> that the 2025 map should be subject to a referendum, and that the congressional map passed in 2022, which was utilized in the 2022 and 2024 elections, should be used in the upcoming November election. Missouri officials appealed this ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court and filed a separate lawsuit in federal court to reinstate the 2025 map, which had already been used in the primary election in August. Justice Brett Kavanaugh <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/supreme-court/4717295/supreme-court-missouri-bid-congressional-map/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">declined</a> to halt the state Supreme Court ruling on Tuesday, while a federal judge simultaneously ruled in favor of Missouri officials, resulting in conflicting rulings.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">People Not Politicians appealed the federal district court’s ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit. After the 8th Circuit declined to halt the district court’s order, the group escalated the matter to the Supreme Court. The emergency petition requests the justices to reverse what it describes as a “new and clear conflict with federal law” created by the order instructing state officials to use the 2025 map.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The emergency petition states, “A federal district court cannot transform an unlawfully administered primary into a federal constitutional command that the State continue violating its own law through the general election. And the district court’s legally baseless [temporary restraining order] must not be permitted to detonate in the middle of Missouri’s congressional elections to blow up the clear and careful ruling of the Missouri Supreme Court and the fundamental rights of Missouri voters.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong><a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/justice/4718256/how-missouri-redistricting-turned-into-legal-mess/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">HOW MISSOURI REDISTRICTING TURNED INTO A LEGAL MESS</a></strong></p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The Supreme Court has requested a response from Missouri officials by 10 a.m. Thursday, as deadlines for sending out ballots for the November election are approaching. There is no set timeline for the high court to issue a decision on the emergency petition, but a ruling is anticipated as soon as Thursday.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The decision on which congressional map Missouri will use for the November election could significantly impact the competitive House elections. If the 2022 map is utilized, the Missouri congressional delegation is likely to be split 6-2 in favor of Republicans over Democrats, whereas if the 2025 map is adopted, the delegation may be split 7-1 in favor of Republicans over Democrats.</p>