A federal appeals court ruled Monday that Missouri’s plan to revert to its 2022 congressional districts for the November midterms violates the U.S. Constitution, adding another turn to a redistricting dispute already before the Supreme Court.

By yourNEWS Media Newsroom.

A federal appeals court ruled Monday that Missouri must use congressional districts adopted by the Republican-controlled legislature in 2025 rather than revert to the state’s 2022 map for the Nov. 3 general election, setting up another expected round of emergency proceedings before the U.S. Supreme Court.

A three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a federal district court ruling that found constitutional problems with conducting Missouri’s August congressional primaries under one map and its November general election under another.

“On November 3, 2026, Missourians will vote for federal and state candidates in this year’s general election. Spirited congressional and ballot measure campaigns have intersected in federal and state courts,” the court said.

“The question presented to this Court is which congressional district map Missouri should use for the November 2026 elections: the map adopted in 2025 and used in the August 2026 primary election, or the map adopted in 2022. The people of Missouri deserve an answer to this important question,” the court said.

The panel concluded that the federal Constitution prevents Missouri from switching back to the older boundaries after voters already selected congressional nominees under the newer districts.

“This Court holds that Missouri’s current plan to use the 2022 map in the November 2026 general election violates the Constitution. Only use of the 2025 map complies with the Constitution and federal law. We affirm the district court1 and remand for entry of a permanent injunction,” the court’s order read.

Judges James Loken, David Stras and Justin D. Smith heard the case. Loken was appointed by President George H.W. Bush, while Stras and Smith were appointed by President Donald Trump. The same panel heard expedited oral arguments Sept. 17.

Monday’s ruling does not necessarily mean election officials will immediately begin using the 2025 districts.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Sept. 10 stayed an earlier federal district court order requiring use of the newer map while the 8th Circuit considered the appeal and while the parties had an opportunity to seek further Supreme Court review. That stay had restored the 2022 map as the operative plan while the litigation continued.

The dispute is consequently expected to return to the Supreme Court before Missouri’s congressional map for November is finally settled.

The legal battle stems from House Bill 1, approved during a special legislative session in September 2025 and signed by Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe. The plan substantially reshaped the Kansas City-area 5th Congressional District represented by Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver and was designed in part to create another district in which Republicans could compete. Republicans currently hold six of Missouri’s eight U.S. House seats.

Opponents of the new boundaries collected more than 300,000 signatures seeking a statewide referendum on the map.

Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins rejected the petition Aug. 4, the same day Missouri conducted its congressional primaries under the 2025 districts, arguing that state law did not permit voters to subject a congressional redistricting measure to a referendum.

The Missouri Supreme Court unanimously rejected that position Sept. 3.

The state court determined that the referendum petition was valid, sufficient and timely and ruled that the Missouri Constitution permits voters to subject congressional redistricting legislation to a referendum. It concluded that HB 1 therefore had not taken effect and ordered Missouri to conduct the November general election under the 2022 districts unless and until voters approve the new map.

The state court wrote that the 2025 plan “did not go into effect and will not go into effect unless and until approved by the voters,” leaving the 2022 congressional districts in force for the November election under its interpretation of Missouri law.

Under that ruling, voters will decide the fate of the 2025 map in a referendum on Nov. 3. If approved, the legislation would take effect after the election rather than retroactively determine the districts used for that day’s congressional contests.

Missouri officials sought emergency relief from the U.S. Supreme Court after the state ruling. Justice Brett Kavanaugh initially declined on Sept. 8 to disturb the Missouri Supreme Court decision, an action reported as blocking the state’s attempt to immediately restore the new map.

A separate federal lawsuit then altered the situation again.

Republican Rep. Bob Onder, Republican congressional nominee Rick Brattin and two voters sued in federal court, arguing that switching maps between Missouri’s primary and general election would violate federal constitutional rights.

Chief U.S. District Judge Stephen Clark temporarily ordered the state to use the 2025 map, concluding that voters who participated in the August primaries could otherwise find themselves voting in November races involving different districts and candidates than those for which they had participated in selecting nominees.

The U.S. Supreme Court then stayed Clark’s order on Sept. 10, putting the 2022 map back in place while the 8th Circuit considered the merits of the federal case.

Election officials have warned that the repeated changes create significant logistical problems.

Before last week’s appellate arguments, local officials told the 8th Circuit that ballots were already being printed using the 2022 districts and that federal law required military and overseas ballots to be mailed beginning Sept. 18. They said another switch would affect more than 1 million potential voters and require costly changes to ballots and election systems.

The appellate panel nevertheless concluded Monday that the federal constitutional issue required use of the same 2025 districts used for the August primary.

The ruling creates a direct clash between the Missouri Supreme Court’s interpretation of state referendum law and the federal courts’ conclusions about constitutional requirements governing the November congressional election.

It does not overturn the Missouri Supreme Court’s determination that voters are entitled to consider the redistricting law through a referendum. Instead, the federal litigation concerns which districts can constitutionally be used for the 2026 general election after the primary occurred under the 2025 boundaries.

With the Nov. 3 election approaching and the Supreme Court’s prior stay still central to the litigation, the dispute is now positioned for another emergency appeal to the nation’s highest court before Missouri election officials receive a final answer on which congressional districts voters will use.

Original article