Missouri Supreme Court rules new GOP-drawn map can't be used for November elections
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Sept. 3, 2026, 6:04 PM EDT / Updated Sept. 3, 2026, 7:26 PM EDTBy Raquel Coronell Uribe and Jane C. Timm
The Missouri Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the state's redrawn congressional map cannot be used in this year's midterm elections, dealing a blow to Republicans.
The court ruled that a referendum on whether the state can use the map going forward must be included on the November ballot, meaning Missouri's fall elections will take place under its previous district lines.
The new map was designed to draw one of the two Missouri Democrats in Congress, longtime Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, out of his seat.
"More than 305,000 Missourians demanded a say in who will represent them in the halls of Congress. Despite the cynical and deeply shameful attempt to silence many of our neighbors, the people fought back and won," Cleaver said in a post on X following the ruling, adding that "democracy prevails."
The ruling comes after a protracted battle between advocacy group People Not Politicians Missouri, which sought to block the Republican redistricting effort, and the state GOP leaders who defended it.
Missouri redrew its congressional map in 2025 at the behest of President Donald Trump. In response, People Not Politicians Missouri gathered more than 300,000 signatures to force a veto referendum. And while the group exceeded the signature requirements for getting on the ballot, Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins refused to certify it, saying that it was unconstitutional. The group appealed to the state Supreme Court, which heard arguments on the matter on Wednesday.
The ruling comes just days before the state's Sept. 8 deadline to finalize its ballot for the general election. The state ran its August primary election using the Republican-drawn map.
Judge Ginger K. Gooch wrote in her ruling that Hoskins and those acting with him "are restrained and enjoined from implementing, using, or mandating the use of the congressional redistricting in HB 1 for the November 2026 general election or at any other time thereafter unless and until HB 1 is approved by the voters at the November 2026 general election and takes effect 30 days thereafter."
The court's decision means Cleaver will now be seeking re-election for his old seat, which skews heavily Democratic. He won by almost 24 percentage points in 2024.
The redesigned 5th District, which was struck down by Thursday's ruling, was drawn so that Trump would have won by more than 17 points in 2024.
Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway vowed in a statement following the ruling to appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.
"Never before in American history has a court overturned a congressional map after a primary and before a general election. This unprecedented decision clearly violates federal law and has thrust our state into a full‑fledged constitutional crisis," Hanaway wrote. "We are confident that the federal courts will not allow every Missouri voter to be disenfranchised—which is what today's decision does."
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., also weighed in, celebrating the decision and referencing the U.S. Supreme Court's May decision to uphold a Virginia Supreme Court decision that did away with a voter-approved congressional map that would have expanded Democratic-leaning districts.
"We are watching closely to determine if they apply the same standard here, or choose to do the bidding of the Republican Party again," Jeffries wrote.
People Not Politicians executive director Richard von Glahn celebrated the ruling.
"This victory reaches beyond Missouri. In a year when map-drawing has become a national weapon, courts across the country are watching what happens here. A Missouri win for the referendum is a signal that the people still hold the power," von Glahn said in a statement.
Missouri is one of a handful of Republican-led states that took up mid-decade redistricting efforts at Trump's urging to shore up the party's narrow House majority.
Trump criticized the ruling in a Truth Social post, calling the ruling "horrible, ridiculous, and unConstitutional."
"The Election Process, as usual, is being disturbed in America! Missouri must be able to use the map that was in effect just a couple of months ago, in the Primary," Trump wrote.
The Republican National Committee also blasted the ruling in a statement.
"The RNC is evaluating every option to challenge this decision, and we will not stop fighting for Missouri voters," said Ally Triolo, the RNC's Election Integrity Communications Director.
The last time one of the state's maps was considered by a voter referendum was in 1922, after the Republican-led state Legislature redrew the districts. Voters at the time rejected the new map.
Tags
Who is online
97 visitors
Good.
Seconded.
Indeed. Now we need to do the same with other states engaging in such gerrymandering.
Hmm. it was just hours ago progressives complaining about "judicial activism"..
It's almost like there's no principle other than whatever helps progressivism involved.
What with Mitch McConnell putting up road signs, judicial activism has become a 2-way street for quite some time.
You claim judicial activism because of partisanship — because this act counters Trump's mid-census gerrymandering favorable to your party. Partisanship is anti-critical-thinking.
Below is a detailed explanation of the Missouri Supreme Court's legal ruling, written by ChatGPT. If you think it is wrong, then do the research instead of blindly labeling this judicial activism with no supporting reasoning other than that you dislike the decision.
This nationwide gerrymandering is another disgusting consequence of Trump. It is corruption of our system for partisan purposes. It forces even more corruption, since the only way to counter it is for the Ds to do likewise. Why do you continue to defend Trump despite the damage he continues to inflict on our nation?
Judges threw out a congressional map after the primaries were held. That is unprecedented. Talk about undermining Democracy.
Because the Missouri officials refused to act on the legal petition to put it up for a vote. Those officials are who delayed it until after the primary, the petition was created and got the signatures well ahead of the primary, but Missouri officials refused to act on it until they perceived it as to late to.
Either the judges needed to rule before the primaries or stay the ruling until the next cycle.
To do this after the primaries were held is insane.
You did not read the analysis. The court did not “throw out” a valid map after the primary; it unanimously held that the new map never legally took effect because voters timely invoked their constitutional referendum right. The state’s decision to proceed under a legally unresolved map and then blame the court for enforcing the Constitution is undermining Democracy.
You want something to get upset about? How about Trump's attempts to rig the midterms? That is an assault on Democracy.
So let the government officials withhold a legal petition that was submitted well before primaries? They did not follow their own law in dealing with the petition which is why it was after the primaries, and your response is "oh well".
Screams of election tampering.
whiplash collars are available online, and it should be easy to get one delivered within 2 months ...
Good grief, pay attention to the facts. The opposite is true.
[deleted][✘]
Hoskins absolutely knew he would have to rule the referendum unconstitutional to keep his job and it would be challenged and overturned by the court, so he tried to play dirty hoping the court would just roll with it. He got burned...
He got burned again at the SCOTUS twice this week. I hope the State Supreme Court holds Hoskins in contempt for his continued fuckery.
List them.
Uh oh. You're asking Sean to provide citations?
Progressives having progressive views?
(I am shocked...absolutely shocked I tell you!)
Not everyone is as quick as you to recognize that many progressives lack all principles and lie to advance their cause. .
maga!
What surprises me is that Trump hasn't signed an executive order that only Republicans be allowed to vote in November. Yes, I know, that's about as ridiculous as renaming Lake Ontario.
That is what every one of these Republican actions limiting voting days, reducing early voting, eliminating polling sites in heavily minority and Democratic districts, voter roll purges, is intended to do without having to say the words. But I guess no one should expect Trump or his supporters to be honest about anything considering their track record of non-stop lies and blatant denials of reality.
first time in 56 years that I've been excited about the opening of hunting season ...
/s
They're importing Beef from Argentina,
And painting the passports brown . . .
it's all processed beef, that way maga doesn't have to explain the swastika brand on the hides before the midterms ...
Republicans don't like democracy