Missouri Supreme Court Upholds New Congressional Map

The Missouri Supreme Court upheld the state's new congressional map on May 27, 2026, affirming a lower court's decision that rejected challenges from two groups of voters. The plaintiffs argued that the newly drawn districts were improperly shaped, geographically nonsensical, and lacked equal populations. However, the court found that the challengers did not provide sufficient evidence to overturn the map created by lawmakers. This decision coincided with a similar ruling in Florida, where a judge dismissed an attempt to block the state's new congressional map. The Missouri dispute centered on House Bill 1, which replaced the previous voting map. Critics, including Kansas City Democratic Mayor Quinton Lucas, claimed that the new map unfairly divided the city and neighboring communities. The Missouri Supreme Court clarified that its role was to assess constitutional compliance rather than political fairness, noting that the lawsuit did not claim partisan gerrymandering. During the trial, experts demonstrated that the new map was comparably or better shaped than previous maps from 2012 and 2022, maintaining local areas more effectively by splitting fewer counties and cities. Ultimately, the judges concluded that the map adhered to constitutional requirements.