The Missouri Supreme Court has upheld a Republican-drawn congressional map, allowing it to remain in place while legal challenges tied to a referendum effort move forward.
In unanimous decisions issued Tuesday, the court rejected claims from the ACLU and allied groups that the map should be automatically suspended after organizers submitted more than 300,000 signatures seeking to overturn it. Plaintiffs argued the petition should have immediately frozen the new districts, but the justices ruled that the Missouri Constitution does not provide for an automatic pause in such circumstances.
The map, approved by GOP lawmakers and backed by Governor Mike Kehoe, was designed to shift Missouri’s congressional balance in favor of Republicans. It could potentially turn one Democratic seat and create a 7–1 Republican advantage in the state’s U.S. House delegation.
Writing for the court, Judge Ginger Gooch said that if the state constitution intended for laws to be halted upon filing a referendum petition, it would have explicitly stated so.
The court also upheld lower court findings rejecting arguments that the map violated compactness requirements. The legal dispute has been especially focused on Kansas City, where the new districts divide the city into multiple congressional areas.
Even before the ruling, some Republican officials suggested pursuing an even more aggressive redraw, potentially targeting an 8–0 GOP map in Missouri’s congressional delegation.
