Missouri's Republican leadership is turning to the U.S. Supreme Court in a last-ditch effort to salvage its congressional map, which a state court struck down just weeks before the November elections. In an emergency filing late Friday, the office of Attorney General Catherine Hanaway (R) warned that the lower ruling has created “unprecedented chaos” and threatens to upend the state's ability to hold a lawful federal election.
The map in question, drawn by the GOP-controlled legislature, was designed to give Republicans a 7-1 advantage in Missouri's congressional delegation by diluting the Democratic stronghold in Kansas City, represented by Emanuel Cleaver. The plan was part of a broader Republican push in states like Texas and Florida to consolidate power in the mid-decade redistricting cycle, a move that has drawn intense legal scrutiny.
On Thursday, the Missouri Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the state's constitution allows voters to force a referendum on the redistricting plan. The decision effectively blocks the map from being used in the 2024 elections, forcing the state to revert to a previous 6-1 GOP-favored configuration. The referendum will appear on the November ballot, but because voters have not yet approved it, the map cannot take effect for the upcoming election.
Hanaway's office called the lower court's ruling “bizarre and profoundly anti-democratic,” arguing that it would disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of voters. “Only this Court can prevent Missouri from being forced to disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of voters; and only this Court can ensure that Missouri hosts a timely and lawful federal congressional election,” the state's filing reads.
The case has landed on the Supreme Court's emergency docket, which handles urgent matters without full briefing or oral argument. The request will initially go to Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who oversees emergency matters from Missouri. Kavanaugh may act alone or refer the case to the full Court for a vote, a decision that could come within days.
At the heart of Missouri's argument is the federal Constitution's Elections Clause, which grants state legislatures the authority to regulate the “times, places, and manner” of congressional elections. The state contends that the Missouri Supreme Court's ruling improperly overrides that authority by allowing a voter referendum to interfere with the legislature's redistricting decisions.
This is not the first time the Supreme Court has been drawn into mid-decade redistricting battles. In December, the Court allowed Republicans to benefit from a Texas map that added several new GOP-leaning districts, despite a lower court's finding of racial gerrymandering. In May, the Court refused to intervene in Virginia, where a state court had thrown out the Democratic-drawn map for procedural violations.
The Court has also recently narrowed the scope of Voting Rights Act challenges, a decision that has made it easier for states like Louisiana to adopt new maps ahead of the midterms. Missouri's case, however, raises a novel question: whether a state court can block a legislature's map based on a referendum petition, especially after a primary election has already been conducted under that map.
Legal experts say the outcome could have significant implications for the balance of power in Congress and for the broader redistricting process. A ruling in Missouri's favor could embolden other Republican-led states to push aggressive maps, while a rejection could signal that courts are willing to police partisan gerrymandering even when voters have a say.
The Supreme Court's decision is expected quickly, given the proximity to the November election. In the meantime, Missouri election officials are preparing to implement the older map, which would likely keep the state's congressional delegation at 6-1 in favor of Republicans, a smaller majority than the GOP had hoped for.
