Justice Brett Kavanaugh has denied an emergency appeal by Missouri Republicans seeking to preserve a congressional district map that favored their party. The decision, made by Kavanaugh in his role as the circuit justice for the Eighth Circuit, means a state court ruling that blocked the map will stand, at least for now.
The appeal was an attempt by Republican lawmakers to reinstate a map that created more GOP-friendly districts before the November elections. The Missouri Supreme Court had previously blocked the map, ruling it was unconstitutional because it was drawn with partisan intent.
The state's Republican-controlled legislature drew the map earlier this year, and it was enacted into law. However, a legal challenge by a group of voters and civil rights organizations argued that the map diluted the voting power of Black residents and was drawn with excessive partisan intent, violating the state constitution. A lower state court agreed, and the Missouri Supreme Court upheld that decision. Republicans then sought emergency intervention from the U.S. Supreme Court.