Missouri congressional map reaches U.S. Supreme Court for a third time before November vote

Reuters reported that challengers including People Not Politicians filed the latest emergency request on Tuesday, asking the Supreme Court to halt the 8th Circuit's order restoring Missouri's 2025 Republican-drawn map. It is the third time the dispute has reached the court in September.

Missouri Republicans adopted the new map in 2025, dismantling a Kansas City-based district represented by longtime Democratic Representative Emanuel Cleaver. The Missouri Supreme Court unanimously ruled on September 3 that state law barred use of the new map in the midterms until voters considered it in a referendum.

The U.S. Supreme Court first rebuffed state officials on September 8 and then blocked use of the new map on September 10. A federal district judge separately required the new map because it had already been used in the August 4 party primaries, and the 8th Circuit on Monday upheld that direction, prompting the challengers to return to the Supreme Court.

At publication time, the Supreme Court had not ruled on the latest emergency request. If the new map is blocked, the 2022 map remains the election-administration alternative. Interim court orders are not the same as a final ruling on the merits.

Verification status: confirmed court filings and rulings reported by Reuters. News value: A. Origin region: United States (Missouri). Primary section: Politics. Related regions: United States and worldwide. Source time: September 23, 2026, 08:14 UTC. Report date: September 23, 2026. The image is an N Globe editorial illustration, not an official district map.