Supreme Court again blocks Missouri’s new congressional map; keeps 2022 map in place for now

# What happened

Sept. 25, 2026, issued a five-page unsigned order that again declined to allow Missouri to use a newly adopted congressional map for the November 2026 elections. The order paused a St. Louis federal appeals court decision that had directed the state to implement the 2025 map that was designed to favor Republicans.

# Immediate effect of the order

The Court told federal district and appeals courts that they "should not enjoin or otherwise prohibit the use of the" 2022 map (the map currently in use) in the 2026 congressional election and that they "should not order or otherwise require Missouri to use the" 2025 map in that election. Reporters received the opinion shortly before 6 p.m. EDT. There were no public dissents.

# How the dispute unfolded

• September 2025: Missouri adopted a new congressional map intended to give Republicans an additional House seat.
• Dec. 9, 2025: Opponents, including People Not Politicians and its executive director Richard von Glahn, submitted more than 300,000 signatures to place the new map on the November 2026 ballot as a referendum.
• Aug. 4, 2026: Secretary of State Denny Hoskins rejected the petition on the last day to do so. Missouri then held its August primary using the 2025 map.
• State litigation: Von Glahn sued in state court to reverse Hoskins' decision and block use of the 2025 map in November. On Sept. 3, the Missouri Supreme Court unanimously held the referendum petition was legal, sufficient, and timely and that the 2025 map never went into effect unless approved by voters in November 2026.

# Parallel federal litigation and the back-and-forth at the Supreme Court

After the Missouri Supreme Court ruling, the matter moved quickly through federal courts:

• Sept. 4: Republican members who had won nominations in the August primary (Rep. Robert Onder and another candidate, Richard Brattin), plus two voters, sued in federal district court in St. Louis seeking to revive the 2025 map. They argued the 2022 map would place them and some voters in different districts than where they won nominations.

• Chief U.S. District Judge Stephen Clark issued an order directing the state to use the 2025 map, reasoning nominees and voters could face irreparable harm if the map change were not allowed.

• Sept. 10: The Supreme Court issued a brief unsigned order putting Clark's order on hold pending appeal to the Eighth Circuit and possible certiorari.

• Sept. 17–21: The Eighth Circuit expedited the appeal, heard arguments, and on Sept. 21 upheld Clark's order and directed a permanent order requiring the 2025 map, but stayed that order until Sept. 28 to give the Supreme Court time to act.

• Sept. 22 and Sept. 25: Parties returned to the Supreme Court seeking clarification or relief. On Sept. 25 the Court again paused the lower-court direction to use the 2025 map and instructed lower courts not to compel either map's use for the November election.

# Practical implications

# Who the main parties are

• People Not Politicians and Richard von Glahn: referendum proponents challenging the petition rejection.
• Secretary of State Denny Hoskins: Missouri's top election official who rejected the referendum petition.
• Rep. Robert Onder and Richard Brattin: Republican primary winners who sued to restore the 2025 map.
• Chief U.S. District Judge Stephen Clark and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit: federal judges who issued conflicting orders during the dispute.

The litigation is active and procedural steps remain pending in the lower courts and possibly at the Supreme Court.