A Missouri appeals court has ordered the state to use a Republican-drawn congressional map for November’s elections despite previous rejections by the U.S. Supreme Court. The ruling, made on Monday, comes as absentee and mail-in ballots are set to be distributed to voters. This decision splits Missouri’s 5th Congressional District into two districts, potentially reducing Democratic representation from two seats to one. Critics argue that switching maps now would be impractical given that some ballots have already been cast in the August primary using the disputed map.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-22,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
A federal appeals court in Missouri ordered on September 18 that the state must use newly drawn Republican-backed congressional districts for November’s midterm elections, despite previous rulings by both the U.S. Supreme Court and the Missouri Supreme Court blocking their implementation. The new map, favored by former President Donald Trump, aims to benefit Republicans by altering district boundaries and splitting existing ones. This decision follows a long-standing legal battle over redistricting in Missouri, which has seen multiple conflicting court orders affecting voter registration and ballots already printed using the old 2022 map. As a result, the case is likely headed back to the U.S. Supreme Court for a final ruling before November's elections.
Written for “Missouri Redistricting Saga” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 26 other(s) covering the same event.
A Missouri appeals court ordered Monday that the state must use a GOP-drawn congressional map in November’s elections, reversing a series of Supreme Court decisions.
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state → order → decisions
The St. Louis-based Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals made the ruling Monday, just one day before absentee and mail-in ballots were slated to be sent out to voters.
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ballots → base → voters
Military and overseas voters have already begun to receive ballots, according to the Associated Press.
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voters → begin → Press
"This Court holds that Missouri’s current plan to use the 2022 map in the November 2026 general election violates the Constitution.
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plan → hold → Constitution
Only use of the 2025 map complies with the Constitution and federal law," Eighth Circuit Judge Stephen R. Clark wrote in a previous decision, which was upheld by the appeals panel in Monday's ruling.
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which → comply → ruling
The map, drawn by Missouri’s Republican-dominated state assembly in 2025, has already been rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court twice on procedural grounds, most recently earlier this month.
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map → draw → grounds
The new map splits Missouri’s 5th Congressional District, which encompasses the state’s largest metropolitan area centered on Kansas City, into two districts, likely eliminating one of the state’s two Democratic-leaning districts.
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which → split → districts
Despite numerous challenges, Missouri did use the 2025 map for its August primary elections.
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Missouri → use → elections
An August ruling from a state trial court ruled that a reversion to the 2022 map "would move hundreds of thousands of voters into different districts for the imminent 2026 general election compared to the districts in which they cast their ballots in the August primary elections."
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they → rule → elections
The Missouri Association of County Clerks and Election Authorities already announced it won’t be using the 2025 map for November, arguing in an appeal filing that the state does not have enough time to provide new ballots, according to the AP.
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state → announce → AP
Opponents of the redrawn map, like People Not Politicians executive director Richard von Glahn, echoed that sentiment.
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Opponents → echo → sentiment
"Ballots have been printed, and Missourians have already voted.
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Missourians → print → ?
Thousands more will vote before this order seeks to take effect.
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order → vote → effect
Officials should stop wasting taxpayers’ money on pointless legal action and instead focus on administering our elections," Glahn said in a statement issued to the AP.
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Glahn → stop → AP
The appeals panel, however, argued that there is precedent to offering new ballots in such a short time period.
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panel → argue → period
The panel delayed its ruling from taking place for one week, allowing opponents to appeal to the Supreme Court again.
President Donald Trump has been a strong proponent of the redrawn map, blasting the early September decision by Missouri's Supreme Court to favor the 2022 maps.
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Trump → delay → maps
"The Missouri Supreme Court just ridiculously ruled in favor of changing the maps back to what they were a long time ago.
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they → rule → maps
It's called, Ancient History!
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It → call → ?
The problem is, according to Legal Scholars, that not only was the ruling horrible, ridiculous, and unConstitutional, but there won't be enough time to change the map back with the Election coming up in a very short period of time," Trump wrote in a Sept. 4 post on Truth Social.
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Trump → accord → Social
"The Election Process, as usual, is being disturbed in America!
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Process → disturb → America
Missouri must be able to use the map that was in effect just a couple of months ago, in the Primary.
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that → use → Primary
This is a Dark Day for 'Justice' in Missouri!" he wrote.
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he → write → Missouri
Fox News Digital contacted Missouri's Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Association for Missouri County Clerks and People Not Politicians for further comment.
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Digital → contact → comment
The Aporia
