Missouri voters are grappling with significant confusion regarding their U.S. House districts just two months before the pivotal November elections, a consequence of a protracted redistricting battle marked by conflicting court decisions.
The state's congressional map has become a point of contention following Republican efforts to redraw districts to their advantage. In September, state lawmakers passed new district boundaries intended to increase the Republican majority in the state's House delegation, aiming to secure seven of the eight seats. These new lines specifically targeted a Kansas City-based seat held by Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver.
Opponents of the redistricting gathered hundreds of thousands of signatures to trigger a statewide referendum, submitting them in December. However, Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins waited until August, the same day as the state's primary election, to reject the petition, asserting that referendums could not be used for congressional redistricting. This delay ensured the newly drawn districts were used in the August primaries.
The Missouri Supreme Court later intervened, ruling Hoskins' decision was incorrect and ordering him to place the redistricting referendum on the November ballot. Crucially, the court also declared that the new districts never officially became law, and they were retroactively suspended to the date the petition signatures were submitted. The court mandated the use of the previous map, drawn by Republican lawmakers after the 2020 census, for the November election. The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to hear an appeal challenging this ruling.
Despite the Missouri Supreme Court's order, federal District Judge Stephen Clark issued a contradictory decision shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court's action. Clark temporarily barred Hoskins from using any map other than the new congressional districts for the November election, citing concerns that switching districts between the primary and general elections could violate federal voting rights.
Legal challenges are ongoing. Redistricting opponents have appealed to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn Clark's order and have also asked the Missouri Supreme Court to hold Hoskins in contempt for moving to implement the new districts in November. A contempt hearing is scheduled for Thursday.
This situation in Missouri echoes past redistricting disputes in other states. Following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in April that weakened the federal Voting Rights Act, Alabama lawmakers altered their congressional districts, even after a May primary. Alabama subsequently held a new primary for the revised districts in August. Similarly, Texas experienced a situation three decades ago where a federal court struck down congressional districts after the 1996 primaries, leading the state to hold an open primary in November for those districts.
However, unlike these instances, no court has suggested a redo of Missouri's August primary. Candidates who won in August have already been certified for the November ballot based on the district they won.
"Here in Missouri, we’ve witnessed a series of unprecedented actions, one after another," Travis Crum, a law professor at Washington University in St. Louis specializing in election law, told The Associated Press. He noted that the question of whether voters have a right to consistent district boundaries from primary to general election is complex and lacks definitive Supreme Court guidance.
Candidates were aware of the ongoing litigation when they filed to run for office. "The fact that the district lines changed, that was a chance that you take when you run," said Michael Wolff, a former Missouri chief justice and dean of the Saint Louis University Law School.
More than a dozen lawsuits concerning Missouri's redistricting have been filed over the past year, accompanied by protests at the state Capitol and courthouses. Voters like Toby Thacker, who now resides in a district represented by Cleaver under the new map but previously in Rep. Mark Alford's district, expressed dissatisfaction despite generally supporting the Republican-led redistricting. Cliff Keith of Washington, Missouri, joined protesters, stating, "They have absolutely no business redrawing the districts right now, just before an election."