Missouri Supreme Court blocks GOP congressional map and orders November referendum

The Missouri Supreme Court on Thursday blocked a Republican-drawn congressional map from taking effect in the November 3, 2026 general election and ordered that voters decide its fate in a referendum this fall.

The unanimous decision said the petition to place the map before voters was “legal, sufficient, and timely,” and that Secretary of State Denny Hoskins erred when he rejected the referendum effort after the August primary. The court ruled the congressional districts adopted after the 2020 census remain in force for the November general election unless voters approve the new map. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/5034c87f2161baa933ea337408e4c5b4))

Legal and political consequences

Republican lawmakers enacted the new map in a special session last year after pressure from former President Donald Trump to redraw districts mid-decade, a move intended to increase Republican chances of winning an additional House seat. The reshaped 5th Congressional District around Kansas City was a focal point: the plan would have moved large, more conservative rural areas into the district that long has been held by Democrat Emanuel Cleaver. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/5034c87f2161baa933ea337408e4c5b4))

Opponents gathered more than 300,000 signatures to force a statewide vote. Hoskins had declined to certify the petition, arguing referendums cannot apply to congressional redistricting; lower courts initially accepted that view before the state’s highest court reversed course and ordered the question onto the November ballot. As a result, the 2025 map cannot be used in November unless voters approve it. ([axios.com](https://www.axios.com/local/kansas-city/2026/09/04/missouri-supreme-court-blocks-new-congressional-map?utm_source=openai))

Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway, whose office defended the map and whose legal team represented Hoskins in court, said she would appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court and described the ruling as having “thrust our state into a full‑fledged constitutional crisis.” Richard von Glahn of the group behind the petition applauded the decision as a vindication of voter rights. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/5034c87f2161baa933ea337408e4c5b4))

The court’s order also enjoined state officials from implementing the 2025 congressional plan for the November election and reaffirmed that if voters approve the measure it would take effect 30 days after certification. The ruling caps months of litigation in Missouri over mid-decade redistricting that mirrored similar fights in other states ahead of the midterm elections. ([courts.mo.gov](https://www.courts.mo.gov/file/SC/Opinion_SC101805.pdf?utm_source=openai))

Photo: Adam from Champaign, Illinois, USA / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)