ST. LOUIS — In a late-afternoon ruling that has thrown Missouri’s upcoming general election into logistical chaos, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered Monday that the state must utilize the congressional redistricting map used during the August primary for the November election. The decision creates a direct conflict with the Missouri Supreme Court, which previously ruled that those 2025-drawn maps were never legally in effect.
The appellate court’s ruling has been stayed for one week, providing a window for an emergency appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court—the third time the nation’s highest court has been asked to intervene in the state’s protracted redistricting battle. Twice before, the Supreme Court has upheld the Missouri Supreme Court’s mandate to revert to the maps drawn in 2022.
The core of the dispute centers on the timing of election administration. The 8th Circuit panel asserted that the Constitution prohibits Missouri from using different maps for a primary and a general election in the same cycle. Furthermore, the judges argued that the September 18 deadline for distributing overseas and military ballots did not preclude them from ordering a change, citing precedents where courts forced adjustments even after ballots had been disseminated.
“The Constitution does not permit Missouri to use a different congressional district map in the November 2026 general election than it used in the August 2026 primary election,” the panel wrote in its decision.
The ruling has sparked immediate alarm among local election officials. The Missouri Association of County Clerks and Election Authorities had warned the court that reverting to the 2025 maps at this stage would be “practically impossible” and would carry a price tag in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. With excuse-based absentee voting scheduled to begin Tuesday, confusion is mounting. A spokesperson for the St. Louis County Board of Elections confirmed that because of the one-week stay, the office would continue to use the 2022 maps for the time being.
The lawsuit was brought by a group of Republicans, including U.S. Rep. Bob Onder and state Sen. Rick Brattin. During arguments last Thursday, their counsel insisted that time remained to implement the Trump-backed 2025 map.
However, voting rights advocates reacted with sharp condemnation. Richard von Glahn, executive director of the group People Not Politicians, which intervened in the case, announced that an emergency appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court is already in motion.
“Ballots have been printed, and Missourians have already voted,” von Glahn said in a statement. “Thousands more will vote before this order seeks to take effect. Officials should stop wasting taxpayers’ money on pointless legal action and instead focus on administering our elections.”
The Missouri Secretary of State’s office has not yet issued a response to the appellate court’s decision. As the legal deadline approaches, voters and election workers remain in limbo, waiting to see if the U.S. Supreme Court will once again step in to resolve the state’s map-making crisis.
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