A federal appeals court has mandated Missouri use a Republican-drawn congressional map for November’s elections despite the U.S. Supreme Court rejecting it twice, creating a midterm election crisis just as ballots begin reaching voters nationwide.
Appeals Court Overrules State Supreme Court
The St. Louis-based Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued its ruling Monday, one day before Missouri planned to mail absentee ballots using the 2022 congressional map. Military and overseas voters had already received ballots under the previous district lines. Judge Stephen R. Clark wrote that Missouri’s plan to use the 2022 map “violates the Constitution” and that only the 2025 map “complies with the Constitution and federal law.” The panel delayed implementation for one week, allowing opponents time to appeal to the Supreme Court again.
Missouri’s Republican-controlled legislature drew the new map in 2025, splitting the state’s 5th Congressional District around Kansas City into two separate districts. The change would likely eliminate one of Missouri’s two Democratic-leaning districts. The state already used the redrawn boundaries for August primary elections, where more than 1.2 million citizens voted. A state trial court ruled in August that reverting to 2022 lines “would move hundreds of thousands of voters into different districts” compared to where they cast primary ballots.
Election Officials Face Impossible Timeline
The Missouri Association of County Clerks and Election Authorities announced it will not use the 2025 map for November, arguing the state lacks sufficient time to provide new ballots. Richard von Glahn, executive director of People Not Politicians, criticized the court action. “Ballots have been printed, and Missourians have already voted. Thousands more will vote before this order seeks to take effect,” von Glahn stated. “Officials should stop wasting taxpayers’ money on pointless legal action and instead focus on administering our elections.” The appeals panel countered that precedent exists for issuing new ballots on short notice.
Presidential Intervention Highlights Stakes
President Donald Trump strongly supported the redrawn map, calling Missouri’s Supreme Court decision to favor 2022 boundaries “ridiculous” and “unConstitutional.” Trump wrote on Truth Social in early September that the ruling was “horrible” and warned insufficient time remained to change maps before the election. “The Election Process, as usual, is being disturbed in America,” Trump declared. “Missouri must be able to use the map that was in effect just a couple of months ago, in the Primary. This is a Dark Day for ‘Justice’ in Missouri.” Governor Mike Kehoe also condemned the state Supreme Court’s blocking of the 2025 map despite its use in primaries.