The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday blocked a federal judge's order forcing Missouri to hold its November elections under a gerrymandered map the state's high court said never took effect.
The order ran roughly ten lines, carried no signature and offered no reasoning. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who handles emergency appeals from Missouri, referred the application to the full court, which granted it with no noted dissents.
The stay freezes the lower court's Sept. 8 order while the case moves through the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and any further appeal to the justices, the order said.
That leaves Missouri with the congressional map it used in 2022 and 2024 for the Nov. 3 election, Election Law Blog reported.
The difference is one seat in the U.S. House. The 2022 lines produced a delegation of six Republicans and two Democrats, while the 2025 replacement was drawn to give Republicans seven of the state's eight districts.
At the center of the fight is House Bill 1, the mid-decade redraw Missouri Republicans passed in 2025 with backing from President Donald Trump, the Missouri Independent reported.
It worked mainly by reshaping the Kansas City-based 5th District. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) holds that seat, according to the Missouri Independent. Opponents turned to a provision of the Missouri Constitution that lets voters veto a legislative act, Democracy Docket reported.
The group People Not Politicians submitted more than 300,000 signatures last December. That forced a statewide referendum on the new districts, Democracy Docket said.
The Missouri Supreme Court ruled unanimously on Sept. 3 that because those signatures arrived before the new districts took effect, House Bill 1 never became law.
Chief U.S. District Judge Stephen Clark, a Trump appointee in St. Louis, ordered the opposite on Tuesday, barring Missouri from using any map except House Bill 1, according to Democracy Docket.
That map had already governed Missouri's August primary, KOMU reported.
The lawsuit before Clark was filed by Rep. Bob Onder (R-MO), state Sen. Rick Brattin (R-MO) and two voters, the Associated Press reported. Brattin won the Republican primary in Cleaver's reshaped district, according to the Missouri Independent.
Clark found that switching districts between the primary and the general election would likely violate the Equal Protection Clause, the constitutional promise that voters be treated alike, KCUR reported.
"Using a different map for the general election would wreak havoc on the fairness and orderliness of Missouri's congressional elections, calling into question the candidacy of those nominated in the primaries and the votes of those who voted in the primaries," Clark wrote, according to the Associated Press. "Widespread voter confusion would inevitably follow."
The referendum reaches voters as Proposition A on Nov. 3, the Missouri Independent reported.
If they approve it, the 2025 districts take effect 30 days later and can be used in future elections.