> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://ivn.us/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # One Election. Two Congressional Maps. Missouri Voters Caught in the Middle - URL: https://ivn.us/one-election-two-congressional-maps-missouri-voters-caught-in-the-middle/ - Published: 2026-09-22T20:11:25.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-22T20:11:25.000Z - Description: Missouri voters face confusion as dueling court rulings create uncertainty over which congressional map will be used for the November general election, while absentee ballots are already being sent out. - Author: Shawn Griffiths - Tags: Gerrymandering, 2026 Midterms, Missouri, #Top-Story **JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.** — Missouri voters are set to decide the fate of a new congressional map in November. However, there is a problem: What congressional map will be used for the general election hasn’t fully been settled. And voting has already begun. On September 21, the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit upheld a lower district court’s ruling that Missouri must use the congressional districts Republican lawmakers approved in 2025 for the November 3 election. This is because the state already used that map for the August 4 primary. The decision conflicts with an earlier Missouri Supreme Court ruling that determined that the new map cannot legally take effect until voters have a say on the veto referendum, [Proposition A](https://ballotpedia.org/Missouri%5FProposition%5FA,%5FCongressional%5FMap%5FReferendum%5F%282026%29?ref=ivn.us). Enforcement of the new ruling was delayed until September 28, giving opponents time to seek relief from the US Supreme Court. In the meantime, election officials are proceeding under Missouri's previous congressional map, enacted in 2022. The whole ordeal has turned into a legal nightmare predicted on IVN way back in December. It is also the latest development in a redistricting battle that has gone from a dispute over congressional representation to a much larger question about the authority of voters, state lawmakers, and the courts. ## **How Missouri Got into This Mess** Here is a quick refresher of everything that has happened to this point. In September 2025, Missouri's Republican-controlled Legislature approved HB 1, a mid-decade congressional redistricting plan backed by President Donald Trump. The new map was designed to give Republicans an advantage in 7 of Missouri's 8 congressional districts, compared with the 6 seats the party currently holds. Specifically, it carves up the Kansas City district currently represented by Democratic US Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, dividing portions of the city among multiple congressional districts. However, as soon as HB 1 was approved, the nonpartisan anti-gerrymandering group People Not Politicians started collecting signatures for a veto referendum. Under Article III, Section 49 of the Missouri Constitution, citizens can petition to approve or reject acts of the General Assembly, subject to specified exceptions. Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins tried to reject the referendum, arguing that one of the exceptions is how the Legislature draws new congressional maps. [The Missouri Supreme Court disagreed.](https://ivn.us/missouri-politicians-tried-to-override-voters-the-states-highest-court-said-no-twice/) On September 3, it unanimously ruled that the veto referendum was legal, sufficient, and timely. The court ordered the measure onto the November ballot and prohibited state officials from implementing HB 1 unless voters approve it. In other words, the decision held that the old congressional map—enacted in 2022—has to remain effective until after the election. At which point, it will all come down to Missourians and their vote on Proposition A. A “Yes” vote allows the 2025 map for future elections. A “No” vote keeps the 2022 map in place. The US Supreme Court upheld the decision, but there was a complication. Missouri had already conducted its August 4 primary elections using the 2025 map. And that became the basis for a new federal lawsuit. ### **Federal Courts Are at Odds with Missouri's Highest Court** Republican US Rep. Bob Onder, Republican congressional nominee Rick Brattin, and two voters sued Hoskins, arguing that Missouri could not constitutionally conduct its primary election under one congressional map and its general election under another. At the center of this argument are voters whose districts would shift depending on what map is used. Some Missourians who voted in the primary could see entirely different candidates on their general election ballot. A federal district judge initially sided with the plaintiffs on September 8, but the US Supreme Court temporarily blocked that ruling two days later. Then, on September 21, [the Eighth Circuit issued its ruling, which also favored the plaintiffs](https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/missouri-again-ordered-to-use-gerrymandered-map-supreme-court-likely-to-decide/?ref=ivn.us). The three-judge panel concluded that changing congressional districts between the primary and general election would violate federal constitutional protections governing representation and equal treatment of voters. Further, the panel directed the lower district court to issue a permanent injunction requiring use of the 2025 map, which was subsequently issued with enforcement delayed until September 28. None of what the federal appeals courts decided overturns the Missouri Supreme Court's ruling on Proposition A. It will still appear on the November ballot. Instead, it creates a legal conflict concerning which map can be used in November. The state's highest court says it has to be the 2022 map. Two federal appeals courts say it has to be the 2025 map. The question now is whether the Supreme Court will resolve this dispute with a little over a month until Election Day. ## **There’s Another Complication: Ballots Have Already Been Sent Out** While attorneys argue over constitutional authority, local election officials face an immediate logistical problem. Missouri began mailing ballots to military and overseas voters on September 18\. [Absentee voting for eligible voters begins Tuesday, September 22](https://missouriindependent.com/2026/09/21/appeals-court-backs-missouris-gerrymandered-map-but-decision-is-put-on-hold/?ref=ivn.us). Those ballots were prepared using the 2022 congressional map in accordance with the Missouri Supreme Court’s decision. Election officials warned the Eighth Circuit that changing maps again would require more than replacing candidate names. They would need to determine which voters belong in which congressional districts, generate new ballot styles, reprogram equipment, print replacement ballots, and conduct additional testing. Their main point is that changes could threaten compliance with election deadlines and create significant costs. There is also a larger concern for Missourians: What happens to a voter who has already submitted a ballot under the 2022 map if a court subsequently requires the state to use the 2025 map? Would that ballot still count for the congressional race? Would the voter need to receive another ballot? These questions become trickier with each passing day. One thing is known for sure: Missouri voters, candidates, and election officials have entered uncharted waters filled with uncertainty and confusion due to decisions made my partisan election officials. People Not Politicians attorney Chuck Hatfield has indicated that the organization will seek another stay from the US Supreme Court before the September 28 deadline.