The U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Missouri has to use a GOP-friendly congressional map in November’s election. Judges also delayed that decision for one week, so the Supreme Court would have time to look at the case.
According to CNN, the panel said its order would not go into force immediately. That pause leaves the fight over the state’s eight congressional districts open for another appeal.
State justices had already blocked the 7-1 Republican-leaning map the legislature passed last year after a referendum challenge under the Missouri Constitution. They directed officials to use an older 6-2 plan instead, even though the 2025 map had already been used in the primary.
The Eighth Circuit said the older map would leave many primary voters without their nominees
The U.S. Supreme Court refused to overturn the Missouri Supreme Court’s decision. It later paused a federal trial judge’s order that had tried to bring the 7-1 map back. The legal battles over Missouri’s map are part of a wider pattern of election-related disputes, such as when Mike Lindell rejected his loss in the GOP gubernatorial primary, forcing the involvement of the Minnesota Supreme Court.
The 8th Circuit then said forcing voters to use the older map in the general election violates the U.S. Constitution. Judges cited estimates from a conservative group in the case.
The court concluded, “that more than 1.4 million Missourians could not vote for the congressional district nominees who will appear on their November 2026 general election ballot, and more than a quarter-million Missourians who voted in the August 2026 primary election cast a vote for a congressional district candidate who now cannot represent them.” This ruling adds to the high-stakes legal battles now before the Supreme Court, which has recently taken up other election law disputes.
The newer map was described as targeting the 5th Congressional District held by Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver. It was said to split the Kansas City core of that district and extend the lines into rural, Republican-leaning areas.
People Not Politicians, the group behind the referendum drive against the GOP-leaning map, responded in a statement. The group said, “Ballots have been printed, and Missourians have already voted.”
It also said, “Thousands more will vote before this order seeks to take effect.” The statement added, “Officials should stop wasting taxpayers’ money on pointless legal action and instead focus on administering our elections.”
Published: Sep 22, 2026 06:45 am