redistricting

The 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals is deciding whether to order the November election to be held in the same district lines used for the primary. The Missouri Supreme Court ruled a referendum made that map, drawn in 2025 to benefit Republicans, has no legal effect.

While the 8th Circuit Court judges appeared sympathetic to the Republican plaintiffs, redistricting proponents would also need to overcome barriers from the U.S. Supreme Court and warnings from elections officials that it’s now too late to change course for the November election.

The proposed class action is the third lawsuit filed against Secretary of State Denny Hoskins in less than a week. It's seeking damages for voters who cast August primary ballots in congressional districts different than in November, arguing that Hoskins deliberately delayed ruling on a referendum challenging the map.

Secretary of State Denny Hoskins wants the 8th Circuit Court to restore the redrawn, GOP-favoring congressional districts and toss out the ballot referendum challenging the map. But county clerks argued that any more changes to the November election would require delays, massive costs and voter confusion.

The Missouri Supreme Court ruled that the state must use its 2022 congressional map for the upcoming November elections — rather than the redrawn map used during the primary. That means a much different race for candidates in the 5th Congressional District, Democrat Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II and his Republican Rick Brattin.

The legal back-and-forth over Missouri's congressional maps is unprecedented in American politics. Current 5th District U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II and his Republican opponent, state Sen. Rick Brattin, share their thoughts on what transpired in the courts — and what it may mean for November.

On Nov. 3, voters in Kansas and Missouri will decide multiple consequential ballot issues — including on abortion access and gerrymandering. They'll also vote for U.S. Senate, U.S. House, and other offices from the governor down to the local level.

The 8th Circuit Court will hear arguments Thursday as Republican officials attempt to institute a redrawn congressional map for November's election. But they face a narrow legal path after a U.S. Supreme Court stay and a state ruling that the map never took effect.

At the center of the case is a Missouri law that says the secretary of state must pay between $100 and $500 to an aggrieved person if the officeholder “neglect[s] or refuse[s] to perform any of the duties enjoined on him by law."

Missouri's Secretary of State informed local election authorities on Thursday to use the 2022 map, a reversal of his previous directions to election clerks.

The U.S. Supreme Court has halted a temporary restraining order issued this week that only allowed Secretary of State Denny Hoskins to use a Trump-backed map lawmakers drew in 2025.

The GOP statewide official is slated to face contempt charges for violating a Missouri Supreme Court order not to use a Trump-backed congressional map from 2025.