UPDATE: Missouri filed an emergency request in Washington
WASHINGTON — Missouri asked the U.S. Supreme Court late Friday to suspend a unanimous state-court ruling and allow the state's Republican-backed 2025 congressional map to be used in the November 3 midterm election. The emergency application is docketed as Hoskins v. von Glahn, No. 26A304.
The filing asks the justices to stay the Missouri Supreme Court's September 3 judgment, which held that a valid citizen referendum suspended the newer map before it took effect. Filing an application does not restore the map, and the U.S. Supreme Court has not ruled on Missouri's request.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who handles emergency matters from the region, directed the map's opponents to respond by Monday. Associated Press reports that Missouri faces a Tuesday state-law deadline for changes to the November ballot. Those deadlines explain the speed of the emergency proceeding; they do not predict how the Court will rule.
Read the source: U.S. Supreme Court: Missouri's emergency application for a stay in No. 26A304 ↗
The 2022 map remains operative unless the justices intervene
For now, the Missouri Supreme Court's order remains in force: the congressional districts adopted after the 2020 census govern the November general election, and voters will decide whether to approve or reject the 2025 map in a statewide referendum.
Missouri used the disputed newer districts for its August primary. The state's lawyers argue that changing maps between a primary and general election would create unprecedented confusion and could prevent a timely federal election. Those are the state's claims in an emergency filing, not findings the U.S. Supreme Court has adopted.
Referendum supporters say Missouri voters lawfully suspended the redistricting law by submitting the required petition signatures before it took effect. The state Supreme Court accepted that legal position unanimously. The federal justices can grant or deny a temporary stay without finally resolving every constitutional argument in the case.
Read the source: Associated Press: Emergency appeal, response deadline and ballot timetable ↗
Why the Missouri court stopped the new map
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The Missouri Supreme Court unanimously ruled Thursday that a citizen referendum challenging the state's 2025 congressional map was legal, sufficient and timely, preventing the new districts from being used in the November 3 general election unless voters first approve them.
The court said House Bill 1 did not take effect after referendum supporters submitted their petition. Missouri's congressional map adopted after the 2020 census therefore remains in force for the November election.
The ruling reverses a lower-court judgment and Secretary of State Denny Hoskins' determination that congressional redistricting legislation could not be challenged through Missouri's referendum process. The state Supreme Court concluded that the constitution's reservation of referendum power over 'any act' of the legislature includes a congressional map.
Read the source: Reuters: Missouri asks the U.S. Supreme Court to revive the Republican-drawn map ↗
A statewide vote now decides the map's future
The referendum is scheduled for November 3. A yes vote would uphold the 2025 map in House Bill 1; a no vote would repeal it and keep the earlier map. The court's order means voters will choose the map's future even though election officials used the disputed districts for Missouri's August primary.
People Not Politicians, the campaign behind the referendum, reported submitting more than 305,000 signatures in December 2025. The ruling establishes that the petition met the legal requirements; it does not resolve how Missourians will vote.
Candidates now face an unusual split: nominations were decided using the House Bill 1 districts, but the November general election will use the 2022 districts. State lawyers had argued that changing maps after the primary would cause confusion. The court nevertheless held that the unapproved law never became effective.
Read the source: Supreme Court of Missouri: September 3 signed majority opinion in SC101805 ↗
The partisan stakes are significant—but the outcome is not guaranteed
President Donald Trump publicly backed the mid-decade redraw, and Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe called the 2025 special session that produced it. The map reshaped the Kansas City-based 5th District represented by Democrat Emanuel Cleaver and was designed to give Republicans an advantage in seven of Missouri's eight U.S. House districts.
Missouri's current delegation consists of six Republicans and two Democrats. Supporters hoped the new boundaries would help Republicans gain another seat, but a map's partisan tilt does not guarantee an election result. Voters, candidates, turnout and campaigns still decide who wins each district.
This decision addresses whether the map took effect and whether voters may subject it to a referendum. It does not declare partisan redistricting categorically unconstitutional or decide separate claims about district compactness, the legality of the 2025 special session or the ultimate political fairness of either map.
What the U.S. Supreme Court has not decided
Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway and Secretary of State Denny Hoskins are asking for immediate relief, but their application is not a victory, a final appeal decision or a merits ruling. The justices have not restored House Bill 1, canceled the referendum or declared the state court's interpretation unconstitutional.
Until the U.S. Supreme Court issues a contrary order, the operative facts are unchanged: House Bill 1 is suspended, the 2022 congressional map governs the November 2026 general election and Missouri voters will decide whether to uphold the newer districts.
The accompanying image is an authentic February 2025 photograph of the Supreme Court of Missouri Building by Antony-22, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0. It is a file photograph and does not depict the September 2026 hearing, the referendum campaign or anyone named in this report.
Read the source: Missouri Senate: Official legislative record for House Bill 1 ↗
Sources and further reading
U.S. Supreme Court: Missouri's emergency application for a stay in No. 26A304 ↗
Associated Press: Emergency appeal, response deadline and ballot timetable ↗
Reuters: Missouri asks the U.S. Supreme Court to revive the Republican-drawn map ↗
Supreme Court of Missouri: September 3 signed majority opinion in SC101805 ↗
Associated Press: The unanimous Missouri ruling and November-election consequences ↗
Missouri Senate: Official legislative record for House Bill 1 ↗
Ballotpedia: Referendum status, ballot date and competing maps ↗
Wikimedia Commons: Supreme Court of Missouri Building photograph, CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗