Missouri officials filed an emergency petition with the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday, September 4, 2026, requesting the reinstatement of a Republican-drawn congressional map for the upcoming November midterm elections. The filing by Attorney General Catherine Hanaway’s office seeks to block a unanimous Missouri Supreme Court decision from September 3 that suspended the new map, known as HB 1. The state court ruled that the map could not take effect until it is approved by voters in a referendum, following a successful petition drive by the group People Not Politicians.
The legal dispute centers on which boundaries will be used to elect U.S. House representatives. Missouri Republicans adopted a map designed to result in a seven-to-one Republican-to-Democratic split of seats. The Missouri Supreme Court ruling, however, requires the state to revert to a 2022 map that maintains a six-to-two split. The state court decision preserved the Kansas City-based district of Representative Emanuel Cleaver (D), which would have been dismantled under the new Republican plan.
Missouri Solicitor General Louis J. Capozzi argued in the filing that switching maps now would cause "unprecedented chaos" because the state already held its primary elections in August using the new boundaries. State officials noted that the referendum petition was supported by signatures from 3.3% of voters and argued that allowing such a group to suspend a state law violates the Elections Clause of the U.S. Constitution. They stated that manually reprogramming election databases and redesigning ballots for the entire state is impossible before the November vote.
For individual voters, the ruling will determine which candidates appear on their November ballots. Solicitor General Capozzi stated that reverting to the old map would shift hundreds of thousands of residents into different districts, meaning they would be required to vote for candidates they did not participate in nominating during the August primaries. Additionally, the state faces a federal deadline under military voting laws to mail absentee ballots to overseas troops by September 19, 2026. Officials stated they cannot meet this deadline if forced to redesign ballots for the older map.
The decision also sets a precedent regarding the power of citizen-led referendums to pause state legislation. While Secretary of State Denny Hoskins initially rejected the referendum petition, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that the petition was legal and timely. The U.S. Supreme Court must now decide if the state legislature’s authority over federal elections overrides the state's referendum process. A ruling is expected before the September 19 mailing deadline, though the high court has not yet set a specific date for its response.