Los Angeles Times
· collected 2026-09-25 · by David G. Savage
For third time, Supreme Court rejects Missouri’s bid for another GOP-leaning House district
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Court → reject → district
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- The Legislature’s goal was to flip one more seat in favor of Republicans.
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goal → click → Republicans
A court of appeals ruled in favor of the GOP-friendly map after the Supreme Court had already blocked it.
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Court → rule → it
For the third time this month, the Supreme Court has rejected Missouri’s bid for one more Republican-leaning congressional district.
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Court → reject → district
With no dissents, the justices upheld a state court order requiring the use of a 2022 election map, which favors Republicans in six of the eight districts.
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which → uphold → districts
“At this late date, ordering reversion to the 2025 map in the midst of an ongoing election would usher in electoral chaos,” the justices wrote.
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justices → order → chaos
The GOP, with the backing of conservative federal judges, wanted to use a new 2025 election map that redrew the district in Kansas City that had elected a Black Democrat.
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that → want → Democrat
That would have given Republicans a 7-1 advantage, but the Supreme Court stood in the way.
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Court → give → way
A new report reveals that mid-decade redistricting for the U.S. House has changed congressional districts for one-tenth of Americans.
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redistricting → reveal → Americans
“As a matter of state law, the 2022 map — not the 2025 map — must be used in the 2026 congressional election,” the justices said in an unsigned opinion.
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justices → use → opinion
“This Court has repeatedly cautioned that lower federal courts should not ‘alter the election rules of a state on the eve of an election.”
Each side in this messy dispute accused the other of seeking to change the voting districts on the eve of the election.
On Tuesday, the opponents of the newly drawn GOP-friendly map appealed to the Supreme Court for the third time.
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opponents → caution → time
They said it is too late to switch the districts because ballots had gone out based on the existing map.
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ballots → say → map
They said the Republicans “demand a new map after votes have already been cast.
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votes → say → map
Ballots using the 2022 map have been printed and mailed, and absentee voting, both by mail and in-person, began today.
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voting → use → person
But the state’s Republican attorneys said the primary elections took place under the new 2025 map, and that argues for keeping those districts in place for the general election in November.
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that → say → November
Last September, the Missouri General Assembly, following President Trump’s lead, voted to redraw its eight congressional districts.
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Assembly → follow → districts
In recent years, the state had sent six Republicans and two Democrats to Congress.
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state → send → Congress
The Legislature’s goal was to flip one more seat in favor of Republicans.
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goal → flip → Republicans
The new map would do that by breaking up the Kansas City district that had elected Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, a Black Democrat, with a new district that favored a Republican.
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that → do → Republican
But a group called People Not Politicians and its executive director, Richard von Glahn, gathered more than 300,000 signatures for a referendum to challenge the new law before it took effect.
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it → call → effect
After waiting nine months to respond, Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins, a Republican, denied the referendum in early August on the same day the primary elections got underway.
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elections → wait → day
Von Glahn and his group of voters sued and won a unanimous decision from the Missouri Supreme Court on Sept. 3.
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Glahn → sue → Sept.
Its judges said the state Constitution authorizes such a referendum and a new election map cannot take effect until the voters have spoken.
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voters → say → effect
Hoskins filed an emergency appeal at the Supreme Court and cited the “chaotic fallout” from the state court “irresponsible decision.”
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Hoskins → file → decision
Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, who oversees appeals from the 8th Circuit Court based in St. Louis, denied the appeal without comment on Sept. 8.
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who → oversee → Sept.
The Supreme Court’s decision marked a defining moment in a pitched legal battle that has lasted nearly a year and caused confusion for voters.
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that → mark → voters
But shortly after his decision was issued, U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Clark, a Trump appointee, issued a temporary restraining order that prohibited the state from using the any voting map other than the new one.
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that → issue → one
People not Politicians appealed that decision to the Supreme Court.
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People → appeal → Court
On Sept. 10, Kavanaugh and the full court granted the appeal and blocked the judge’s order from taking effect.
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Kavanaugh → grant → effect
The justices did not explain their reasoning, but the meaning of the order was clear.
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meaning → explain → order
The state Supreme Court ruling meant the new map could not be used for this year’s election.
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map → mean → election
But that did not stop the 8th Circuit Court from ruling the state must use the new map.
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state → stop → map
Siding with several Republican candidates, a 2-1 majority said the use of 2022 map was unconstitutional because the primary elections were held under the new map.
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elections → side → map
Its decision ordered the elections to be held using the new map.
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elections → order → map
This was a surprising ruling, since the Supreme Court’s order on Sept. 10 barred judges in Missouri from intervening further in the dispute over the voting maps.
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order → bar → maps
But after a third trip to the court, the justices said the state must use the 2022 map.
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state → say → map
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