Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to halt a Missouri Supreme Court ruling that blocked the state’s Republican-drawn congressional map and ordered a statewide referendum, warning of “unprecedented chaos” if the ruling stands.
The state’s redistricting battle escalated this week after the Missouri Supreme Court threw out the new congressional map, which had been passed by the GOP-controlled legislature and signed by Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe last September. The court determined that a petition backed by more than 300,000 signatures was valid and required the map’s fate be put to a statewide vote in November, overriding Secretary of State Denny Hoskins’ earlier rejection of the petition on the basis that Missouri’s constitution does not allow referendums on congressional redistricting.
Attorney General Hanaway responded by filing an emergency appeal Friday, asking the U.S. Supreme Court to step in and block the state court’s order. She warned that the ruling risked “unprecedented chaos on Missouri” and cast doubt on whether the state could conduct a timely and lawful congressional election. “We have just appealed yesterday’s catastrophic ruling to the Supreme Court of the United States. We look forward to the Court’s prompt review of this critical matter, as our ability to hold timely and lawful congressional elections hangs in the balance,” Hanaway said.
Under the Missouri Supreme Court’s decision, the map drawn after the 2020 census remains in force for the November 2026 general election unless the new districts win approval from voters in the fall. The court stated, “The referendum petition was legal, sufficient, and timely, and the secretary incorrectly concluded otherwise,” and ordered that the new map “did not go into effect and will not go into effect unless and until approved by the voters.” It remains unclear whether the state can modify the November ballot in time to comply with the legal deadlines, given that state law sets a Tuesday cutoff for changes.
Republicans had hoped the new map would create a 7-1 GOP majority in Missouri’s congressional delegation by shifting Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver’s Kansas City-area district eastward into more rural, right-leaning territory. More than 1.2 million Missourians had already voted in the primaries using the new districts, and Hanaway’s office argued to the high court that “no court in American history has ever given such an extraordinary remedy, which inflicts unprecedented chaos on Missouri.”
Former President Donald Trump, whose influence shaped the GOP’s redistricting effort, blasted the Missouri Supreme Court’s ruling as “ridiculous” and “unconstitutional,” warning there would not be enough time to change the map before the November election. Gov. Kehoe, who signed the map last year, said he was “extremely disappointed” by the court’s decision.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who is handling the emergency appeal at the Supreme Court, has required opponents of the new map to respond by Monday, leaving the fate of Missouri’s districts unsettled with the general election fast approaching.
On the other side, Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver praised the court’s decision as a victory for voters. “More than 305,000 Missourians demanded a say in who will represent them in the halls of Congress,” Cleaver said. He characterized Republican efforts to implement the new map as “a cynical and deeply shameful attempt to silence many of our neighbors,” and said the ruling “reaffirms that the people should choose their politicians, not the other way around. Democracy prevails.”
The Missouri Supreme Court’s decision marks a major setback for state Republicans, who viewed the new map as critical to securing an additional U.S. House seat and protecting their narrow majority in Congress. The court’s order means the map adopted after the 2020 census remains in effect, at least for now, unless voters approve the legislature’s changes in November.
Five of the seven current Missouri Supreme Court justices, including the chief justice, are Republican appointees, highlighting the broad legal split even within the party. The lower court had previously sided with Secretary Hoskins in rejecting the referendum petition, but the state Supreme Court reversed that decision, siding with the opponents who submitted more than 300,000 signatures in December to force a statewide vote.
Attorney General Hanaway’s appeal argues that the ruling leaves Missouri “genuinely unsure whether it can switch its governing congressional map in time to run a timely federal election.” With the November election looming and a Tuesday deadline for ballot changes, the state faces a tight timeline for any intervention by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Missouri redistricting dispute is the latest flashpoint in a broader national battle over who controls the drawing of congressional districts and the powers of state courts versus legislatures. Republicans in Missouri and across the country have accused progressive groups of using litigation and last-minute legal maneuvers to override legislatures and tip the scales before crucial elections.
In this case, the state’s highest court sided with a coalition that gathered hundreds of thousands of signatures, over 305,000, according to Cleaver, to demand a referendum. The court’s ruling, coming after the new map was already used in primary elections, has left voters, candidates, and election officials scrambling for clarity.
The court’s decision ensures that Missourians will be asked to weigh in on the new map at the ballot box, unless the U.S. Supreme Court intervenes, a prospect that remains uncertain as the clock ticks down to November.
The left likes to talk about “defending democracy,” but when courts override elected representatives and throw elections into chaos, it’s everyday voters who pay the price.