Missouri officials have turned to the U.S. Supreme Court in an emergency effort to restore the state’s new congressional map before November’s midterm elections.
The rapidly developing case could determine which district boundaries voters use only days before Missouri faces a deadline to finalize its general-election ballot.
Advertisement
Attorney General Catherine Hanaway filed the emergency appeal Friday after the Missouri Supreme Court blocked the Republican-backed map and ordered that voters decide its future in a statewide referendum.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who handles emergency applications from the region, has directed opponents of the new districts to respond by Monday.
Advertisement
Hanaway is asking the high court to immediately halt the state court ruling and allow Missouri to use the congressional districts already used during the August primary.
“We have just appealed yesterday’s catastrophic ruling to the Supreme Court of the United States,” Hanaway said, adding that the state’s ability to conduct timely congressional elections was at stake.
Advertisement
Missouri faces a Tuesday deadline for changes to the November ballot, giving the Supreme Court only a narrow window to decide whether emergency intervention is warranted.
The dispute stems from a new congressional map approved last year by Missouri’s Republican-controlled legislature and signed by Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe following a mid-decade redistricting push supported by President Donald Trump.
The map redraws Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver’s Kansas City-area district to include additional Republican-leaning territory and was designed to potentially move Missouri’s congressional delegation from a 6-2 Republican advantage to 7-1.
Opponents responded by gathering more than 300,000 signatures seeking a November ballot referendum that would allow Missouri voters to decide whether the new map should remain in effect.
Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins rejected the petition, arguing that Missouri’s constitution did not permit a referendum on congressional redistricting.
A lower court agreed, but the Missouri Supreme Court reversed that decision Thursday and concluded that the referendum petition was legal, sufficient and timely.
Because Missouri law suspends legislation subject to a valid referendum, the state high court ruled that the new congressional map never legally took effect and cannot be used again unless voters approve it.
That means the congressional districts established after the 2020 census currently remain controlling for the November election, despite Missouri having used the newer boundaries during its August primary.
Advertisement
Hanaway and Hoskins argue that changing congressional maps between the primary and general election would create unprecedented administrative problems and potentially conflict with federal election requirements.
The state’s Supreme Court filing said no American court had previously imposed such a change between a congressional primary and general election and warned that election officials may not have enough time to make the switch.
Hoskins has also argued that reverting to the previous map could affect approximately 1.2 million voters who participated in the August primary under the newer boundaries.
Opponents dispute the claim that changing back is unmanageable, with county election officials telling the state court that the older districts can be restored through Missouri’s voter-registration system.
Advertisement
The Missouri Supreme Court also criticized Hoskins for waiting until the August primary to reject the referendum petition, saying his delay contributed to the logistical complications now cited by the state.
Trump condemned Thursday’s ruling as “ridiculous” and argued that there is insufficient time to replace the map before the midterms.
Cleaver praised the ruling, arguing that more than 305,000 Missourians had demanded the opportunity to vote on the map and that residents should have a say in deciding their congressional districts.
Advertisement
The case now places another consequential midterm election dispute before the U.S. Supreme Court during its summer recess.
Kavanaugh may decide Missouri’s emergency application himself or refer the request to the full Court, Fox News reported.
With opponents required to respond Monday and Missouri facing its ballot deadline Tuesday, the next Supreme Court action could determine whether voters use the older congressional districts or the Trump-backed map that Republicans used during last month’s primary.
This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.
