The Missouri Supreme Court ruled that the congressional districts enacted in 2022 will govern the November general election, resolving competing orders over which map should be used and placing a referendum on the ballot, court documents show. The decision affects how Missourians will be assigned to U.S. House districts this fall and is central to the debate over redistricting.
The ruling, published Sept. 3, 2026, said the 2025 legislative map was suspended once a referendum petition gathered enough valid signatures and that the 2022 map is “the only valid congressional redistricting in effect,” Judge Ginger Gooch wrote, according to St. Louis Public Radio. The court barred state officials from “implementing, using, or mandating the use of the congressional redistricting in [the 2025 plan] for the November 2026 general election,” the opinion said.
That state-court ruling set up a legal clash that reached the U.S. Supreme Court. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected requests to allow Missouri to use the newly drawn Republican-backed 2025 map in November, with The Associated Press reporting the high court “rejected a new congressional map backed by President Donald Trump for Missouri’s November election.” Reuters also reported the U.S. Supreme Court lifted a federal judge’s order requiring use of the Republican-drawn map, effectively preventing the 2025 lines from replacing the 2022 districts for the general election.
The Missouri Supreme Court also ordered that voters will see the referendum on Nov. 3, 2026, asking whether to approve the 2025 congressional lines; St. Louis Public Radio reported the decision put the referendum on the ballot and noted the court found the petition “legal, sufficient, and timely.” That referendum suspension meant the 2025 map could not take effect unless approved by voters and then would take effect 30 days later, the opinion said.
Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins and Attorney General Catherine Hanaway said they planned appeals; STLPR quoted Hanaway saying she would seek review at the U.S. Supreme Court. Legal observers and organizers for People Not Politicians told reporters the decision returns the state to the 2022 lines and that candidates and election officials must follow the state court’s injunction while federal litigation proceeds.
Election reporters warned the competing orders created confusion for officials after the August primary, which was run under the 2025 map; VoteBeat and PBS described a period of conflicting federal and state rulings before the high court intervened. The outcome leaves the 2022 congressional districts in place for now and sends the question to Missouri voters on Nov. 3.
Sources
- St. Louis Public Radio — Missouri Supreme Court opinion placing the referendum on the Nov. 3 ballot and stating the 2022 map is the only valid map.
- Associated Press — Report that the U.S. Supreme Court rejected use of a new congressional map backed by President Trump for Missouri’s November election.
- Reuters — Coverage that the U.S. Supreme Court blocked a federal judge’s order requiring Missouri to use a Republican-drawn map for the upcoming midterm.
- PBS NewsHour — Reporting on conflicting court orders and the Supreme Court’s refusal to allow the new map for November.
