Missouri Supreme Court rules new GOP-drawn map can’t be used for November election - NBC News

The Missouri Supreme Court ruled September 3, 2026, that the state's Republican-drawn congressional map cannot be used in this year's midterm elections, a setback for the GOP.
The court ordered that a veto referendum on the new map be placed on the November ballot, meaning the fall elections will proceed under Missouri's previous district lines.
The map, redrawn in 2025 at the urging of President Donald Trump, was designed to push longtime Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver out of his seat.
Advocacy group People Not Politicians Missouri gathered more than 300,000 signatures to force the referendum, but Secretary of State Denny Hoskins refused to certify it, calling it unconstitutional, prompting an appeal that the court heard on September 3.
Judge Ginger K. Gooch wrote that officials are barred from using the HB 1 redistricting unless voters approve it in November, after which it would take effect 30 days later.
Cleaver, who won by nearly 24 points in 2024, will now seek re-election in his heavily Democratic seat; the redesigned 5th District had been drawn so Trump would have carried it by more than 17 points, while the state used the GOP map in its August primary ahead of the September 8 ballot deadline.