Missouri's congressional map is back in limbo
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Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
Missouri's top election official could be held in contempt of the state Supreme Court after telling county clerks to use a congressional map the court says never became law.
Why it matters: Kansas City's congressional seat was thrown into chaos Tuesday, the day of the November ballot deadline, when a U.S. Supreme Court justice and a federal judge issued orders that canceled each other out.
Catch up quick: Republican lawmakers redrew Missouri's districts last year, but the group People Not Politicians gathered more than 300,000 signatures on a petition to force a public vote on the redraw.
- Secretary of State Denny Hoskins rejected the petition in August and ran the primary on the new map, but the Missouri Supreme Court ruled unanimously Sept. 3 that the petition was valid and the 2025 map was suspended.
- The court put the referendum on the Nov. 3 ballot as Proposition A and ordered November's election back to the 2022 lines.
Driving the news: Missouri asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene, but Justice Brett Kavanaugh declined Tuesday. By late afternoon, Hoskins was sending clerks the data to restore the 2022 lines, People Not Politicians executive director Richard von Glahn said in a statement to Axios.
- Minutes after Kavanaugh's decision, Chief U.S. District Judge Stephen Clark in St. Louis ordered Hoskins to use the 2025 map anyway.
- Clark was ruling in a separate suit from Republican U.S. Rep. Bob Onder and state Sen. Rick Brattin (R-Harrisonville), Democratic U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver's opponent, and wrote that switching maps after the August primary would "wreak havoc" on the election.
Later Tuesday, Hoskins emailed election officials, telling them to use the 2025 map.
- Attorney General Catherine Hanaway said the state is "prepared to follow and comply with Chief Judge Clark's order."
- Brattin praised Clark's order and said he's continuing his 5th District campaign.
Before the night was over, the Missouri Supreme Court ordered Hoskins to appear in person Thursday morning and explain why his email doesn't violate its ruling.
- People Not Politicians appealed Clark's order to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The latest: A federal appeals court refused Wednesday to block Clark's order, so People Not Politicians took the request to Kavanaugh.
- Hoskins is asking a federal judge to excuse him from Thursday's hearing.
What they're saying: "We've got the Supreme Court of Missouri saying that we have to use [the 2022 map]; otherwise we'll be in violation of their order," Boone County Clerk Brianna Lennon told St. Louis Public Radio. "And then we have the federal court saying that we can't use them."
- "In an attempt to steal a congressional seat and silence the voices of voters, state officials are repeatedly breaking the law, hoping the cloud of chaos will enable them to succeed in their nefarious efforts," Cleaver posted on X Wednesday. "The courts must not enable this shameful behavior."
What's next: Missouri must start mailing military and overseas ballots Sept. 14. Proposition A stays on the ballot either way: Voting no rejects the 2025 map for future elections and voting yes adopts it.