Watauga Democrat · Center Square, Andrew Rice · September 8, 2026
(The Center Square) - The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a Missouri congressional map set to favor Republicans ahead of the midterm elections.
Justices on the high court affirmed a decision by the Missouri Supreme Court to hold a statewide vote on whether the new map could be adopted. The high court's ruling, ordered by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, would leave Missouri candidates who succeeded in the state's primary election under the new map to run under the 2022 version of the congressional map.
Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins challenged the Missouri high court's ruling and pointed to its effects on the upcoming general election.
"The order renders a completed federal Primary Election utterly pointless -- disenfranchising hundreds of thousands of voters who will now be moved into new districts and forced to vote for candidates they had no role in selecting," lawyers for the RNC wrote to the high court.
Lawyers for voters who challenged the Missouri legislature's new congressional map argued citizens of the state must vote on whether the new map can move forward, nullifying the current map until the next election cycle.
The Missouri voters also accused Secretary of State Denny Hoskins of attempting to mitigate constitutional rights of individuals seeking challenges against the legislature.
"Enforcing referred legislation before Missourians vote to approve it would not merely undermine their constitutional referendum right but vitiate it altogether," lawyers for the Missouri residents wrote.
Kavanaugh denied a petition to keep in place the newly redrawn maps, a notable break from the high court's rulings in other states. Justices on the court previously allowed new congressional maps to take place in California and Texas.
Notably, justices on the court are only refusing to allow the new map to take place in the upcoming election without a vote from the citizens. Missouri residents could vote to approve the map which advantages Republican candidates.
The case marks a monumental step as Republicans and Democrats move to rare mid-decade redistricting in order to make gains during the midterm elections.