Supreme Court blocks lower courts’ orders, allowing Missouri to use the 2022 congressional map for November 2026

# What happened On September 25, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a per curiam order staying injunctions entered by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. The Court's order said those injunctions — which would have prohibited use of Missouri's 2022 congressional map in the 2026 election and would have required use of a 2025 map — are stayed unless the Supreme Court later lifts the stays.

# What the order says The order was filed as application 26A388 in People Not Politicians v. Robert Onder. It notes that Justice Kavanaugh received the initial stay application and referred it to the full Court. The brief, unanimous per curiam ruling instructs lower courts not to enjoin use of the 2022 map for the November 2026 congressional election and not to require Missouri to use the 2025 map for that election. The Court also kept in effect a prior stay entered on September 10, 2026.

# Why this matters now The dispute centers on which set of congressional district lines Missouri will use for the November 2026 election: the map adopted in 2022 or a map adopted in 2025. Lower-court injunctions had tried to prevent use of the 2022 map and to compel use of the 2025 map. With the Supreme Court's stay, the 2022 map remains available for the upcoming election unless and until the Supreme Court changes course.

# Who's involved and recent context

# What to watch next

• Whether the Supreme Court will issue a full merits decision or schedule further briefings and argument. The per curiam order is a procedural stay, not a final ruling on the merits.

• Related state-court actions and enforcement steps involving Secretary Hoskins and HB 1 that could affect timing and implementation.

# Bottom line For now, the Supreme Court's order preserves the option of using Missouri's 2022 congressional map in the November 2026 election by staying lower-court injunctions that sought to block its use and to force the 2025 map. The stay keeps the status quo in place pending further Supreme Court action.