Supreme Court to Review Missouri Redistricting Case Again

<p>The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in a Missouri redistricting case for a third time after Justice Brett Kavanaugh accepted a request to intervene on Tuesday night. The redistricting map drawn for 2025 could potentially grant Republicans an additional seat in the House of Representatives if implemented before the 2026 elections. A federal judge in Missouri ruled in favor of the 2025 map last month, but the Supreme Court issued a stay on that ruling two weeks ago.</p><p>Opponents of the map filed an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court late Tuesday night following a ruling from the St. Louis-based Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that favored the new map on Monday.</p><p>Kavanaugh, who handles emergency requests for Missouri, instructed supporters of the new map to respond to the appeal by Wednesday at 2 p.m. ET.</p><p>This case has seen multiple legal decisions between federal and state courts, including the Supreme Court and the Missouri Supreme Court. The situation began when Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins rejected a petition to place the 2025 map on the ballot for a vote in 2026, leading to the new map being used for congressional districts in the state's primary elections.</p><p>The Democratic group People Not Politicians, which initiated the petition with 300,000 signatures, sought state court intervention, arguing that the petition should have triggered a referendum under Missouri's constitution. The Missouri Supreme Court agreed, stating that the 2025 map cannot take effect unless approved by voters in the November 2026 general election.</p><p>Hoskins appealed to the Supreme Court, but Kavanaugh declined to hear the request on September 4. Concurrently, Republican candidates who won primary elections based on the 2025 maps filed a separate case in federal court, arguing that using the 2022 map for the general election would present voters with options they did not vote on during the primaries.</p><p>Eighth Circuit Judge Stephen R. Clark ruled in favor of those candidates, ordering that the 2025 maps be used in this year's elections, contradicting the state Supreme Court's ruling. People Not Politicians then requested the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene, and Kavanaugh agreed. The Supreme Court issued an unsigned order blocking Clark's order until the Eighth Circuit provided a formal ruling.</p><p>The Eighth Circuit fast-tracked the case and ruled in favor of the 2025 map. People Not Politicians filed a new request for intervention on Tuesday night, asserting that the court's ruling against the new map was still valid and citing statements from Missouri election officials indicating it was too late to change the maps for the upcoming elections.</p><p>The Missouri Association of County Clerks and Election Authorities announced it would not use the 2025 map for November, arguing there is insufficient time to prepare new ballots. Richard von Glahn, director of People Not Politicians, stated, "Ballots have been printed, and Missourians have already voted. Thousands more will vote before this order seeks to take effect. Officials should stop wasting taxpayers’ money on pointless legal action and instead focus on administering our elections."</p><p><i>The Associated Press contributed to this report.</i></p>