Supreme Court to Hear Missouri Redistricting Case Again

<p>The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in a Missouri redistricting case for a third time after Justice Brett Kavanaugh accepted a request to intervene in the case on Tuesday night.</p><p>The redistricting map drawn in 2025 could grant Republicans an additional seat in the House of Representatives if implemented before the 2026 elections. A federal judge in Missouri ruled in favor of the 2025 map last month, but the Supreme Court issued a stay on that ruling two weeks ago.</p><p>Opponents of the map filed an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court late Tuesday night after the St. Louis-based Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the new map on Monday.</p><p>Kavanaugh, who handles emergency requests for Missouri, directed supporters of the new map to respond to the appeal by Wednesday at 2 p.m. ET.</p><p>This development is part of a series of legal decisions that have seen the new map move between federal and state courts, including the Supreme Court and the Missouri Supreme Court.</p><p>The case began when Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins rejected a petition to place the 2025 map on the ballot for a vote in 2026. Instead, the new map was used to determine congressional districts for the state's primary elections.</p><p>The Democratic group People Not Politicians, which backed the petition, sought state court intervention, arguing that their petition of 300,000 signatures should have triggered a referendum under Missouri's constitution. The Missouri Supreme Court agreed, stating that the 2025 map cannot go into effect unless approved by voters at the November 2026 general election.</p><p>Hoskins appealed the case to the Supreme Court, but Kavanaugh declined to hear his request on September 4.</p><p>Meanwhile, Republican candidates who won primary elections based on the 2025 maps filed a separate case in federal court, arguing that if the general election occurs under the 2022 map, their districts would differ significantly from the primary maps.</p><p>Eighth Circuit Judge Stephen R. Clark ruled in favor of those candidates, ordering the use of the 2025 maps in this year's elections, which contradicted the state Supreme Court's ruling.</p><p>People Not Politicians requested the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene again, and Kavanaugh agreed. The court issued an unsigned order blocking Clark's order until the Eighth Circuit issued a formal ruling. The Eighth Circuit fast-tracked the case and ruled in favor of the 2025 map.</p><p>People Not Politicians filed their latest request for intervention on Tuesday night, arguing that the court's ruling against the new map was still in effect and citing statements from Missouri election officials indicating it is too late to change the maps for the upcoming elections.</p><p>The Missouri Association of County Clerks and Election Authorities announced it will not use the 2025 map for November, stating in an appeal filing that there is insufficient time to provide new ballots.</p><p>"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," said People Not Politicians director Richard von Glahn in a statement.</p><p><i>The Associated Press contributed to this report.</i></p>