Missouri Asks Supreme Court to Restore GOP Map — SkimNews
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- Missouri filed an emergency application at the Supreme Court late Friday to restore its Republican-friendly congressional map, warning the lower ruling has created "unprecedented chaos" and a "federal-election-administration disaster" ahead of the midterms.
- The Missouri Supreme Court unanimously ruled Thursday that the state constitution permits voters to organize a referendum on the redistricting plan, overriding Secretary of State Denny Hoskins's (R) prior denial of such an effort.
- Without the new map, Missouri must revert to its prior 6-1 GOP-favored design; the rejected map created a 7-1 GOP split by weakening Rep. Emanuel Cleaver's (D-Mo.) Kansas City-based seat.
- Attorney General Catherine Hanaway's (R) office called the state court ruling "bizarre and profoundly anti-democratic" and argued it violates the federal Constitution's delegation of election authority to state legislatures.
- The case lands on Justice Brett Kavanaugh's emergency docket as the circuit justice for Missouri; he can act alone or refer the request to the full court for a vote.
- The Supreme Court now reenters the mid-decade redistricting war after reviving a Texas GOP map in December and rejecting Virginia Democrats' map plea in May.
- Earlier this year, the Supreme Court narrowed Section 2 Voting Rights Act challenges, a ruling that has allowed states like Louisiana to redraw maps ahead of the midterms.
Why it matters: Missouri argues no state has ever been forced to swap congressional maps mid-cycle after a completed primary, putting the Supreme Court in the position of choosing between state constitutional referendum rights and federal election-administration stability — and because Justice Kavanaugh handles Missouri emergencies alone, one justice can decide whether the 7-1 GOP map survives the midterms.
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