Missouri Appeals Court Orders State to Use GOP-Drawn Congressional Map for November Election
Ruling reverses prior Supreme Court decisions and comes just before ballots are sent to voters, potentially disrupting election logistics.
An Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling on Monday mandates that Missouri must use a congressional map drawn by the Republican-led state assembly for the upcoming November elections. This decision overturns previous rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court and comes one day before absentee and mail-in ballots were scheduled to be distributed to voters. Military and overseas voters have already begun receiving ballots.
The map, created by Missouri's Republican-dominated state legislature in 2025, had been rejected twice by the U.S. Supreme Court on procedural grounds, most recently earlier this month. The appeals court stated that the current plan to use the 2022 map in the November 2026 general election violates the Constitution and that only the use of the 2025 map complies with constitutional and federal law.
This newly ordered map splits Missouri's fifth congressional district, which includes the Kansas City metropolitan area, into two districts. This division is anticipated to eliminate one of the state's two Democratic-leaning districts. Despite legal challenges, the 2025 map was used for Missouri's August primary elections. A state trial court had previously ruled that reverting to the 2022 map would affect hundreds of thousands of voters in the upcoming general election compared to the districts they used in the primary.
Officials from the Missouri Association of County Clerks and Election Authorities have indicated they will not use the 2025 map for the November election, citing insufficient time to provide new ballots. Richard von Glahn, executive director of People Not Politicians, echoed these concerns, stating that ballots have already been printed and that officials should focus on administering elections rather than legal actions.
The appeals panel, however, argued that there is precedent for issuing new ballots on short notice. The court delayed the implementation of its ruling for one week to allow opponents to appeal to the Supreme Court again.
Former President Donald Trump has been a vocal supporter of the redrawn map, criticizing a prior ruling by the Missouri Supreme Court that favored the 2022 maps. Trump asserted on Truth Social that the ruling was "ridiculously ruled in favor of changing the maps back to what they were a long time ago" and that there would not be enough time to change the map before the election. He characterized the situation as a "Dark Day for 'Justice' in Missouri!"
Fox News Digital has contacted the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Association for Missouri County Clerks, and People Not Politicians for further comment.