Gerrymander foes ask Supreme Court to block GOP map in Missouri

By Jen Rice

Protesters against a Missouri congressional redistricting plan gather outside the Missouri Capitol on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, in Jefferson City, Mo. (AP Photo/David A. Lieb)

Opponents of Missouri’s GOP gerrymander asked the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) to temporarily block a district court order that has thrown elections into last-minute chaos, with local officials overdue to finalize ballots for the 2026 midterms.

The year-long battle over a GOP congressional map drawn at President Donald Trump’s request has escalated into full-blown legal turmoil, with related challenges* playing out in a federal district court in Missouri, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, the Missouri Supreme Court and SCOTUS.

Missouri had a Sept. 8 deadline to finalize ballots for the upcoming election, but local election officials now face conflicting orders about which map to use. The Missouri Supreme Court concluded the gerrymander, which would eliminate a Democratic district in Kansas City, “is not the law and never has been the law,” while a federal district court is blocking the state from using any other map. 

People Not Politicians, the group leading the fight against the GOP map, filed an emergency application Wednesday evening, asking SCOTUS to halt a federal district court’s order blocking the state from using any map other than the new gerrymander in the upcoming election. 

The filing comes minutes after three Republican-appointed judges on the 8th Circuit refused to get involved, saying they didn’t believe they had jurisdiction to settle the dispute.

In the space of two hours Tuesday, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh rejected Missouri’s request to revive the gerrymandered map only for a federal district court judge to immediately block any other map as the result of a separate, last-minute legal challenge brought by Missouri GOP congressional candidates. The Missouri Supreme Court last week ruled the map cannot be used unless voters approve it in a November referendum ballot measure. 

In direct conflict with orders from the Missouri Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court, Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins (R) seized on the district court ruling and instructed local election officials Tuesday to use the new map for printing ballots.

“Information provided by the litigation team is that the federal court’s ruling, based on federal law, takes precedence over the Missouri Supreme Court’s order, which is based on state law,” Hoskins told local election officials. “This is in accordance with the U.S. Supremacy Clause.”

Opponents of the gerrymander are asking the state Supreme Court to hold Hoskins in contempt of court for violating its order. A hearing on the contempt order is set for Thursday morning, but Hoskins has asked a federal court to intervene on his behalf.

Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D), whose district is the target of the GOP gerrymander, urged courts to block Hoskins’ scheme.

“In an attempt to steal a congressional seat and silence the voices of voters, state officials are repeatedly breaking the law, hoping the cloud of chaos will enable them to succeed in their nefarious efforts,” Cleaver said Wednesday. “The courts must not enable this shameful behavior.”

*The Elias Law Group (ELG) represents pro-voting parties in this case. ELG Firm Chair Marc Elias is the founder of Democracy Docket.