Trump secures temporary win as appeals court orders Missouri to use GOP-backed congressional map

WASHINGTON, DC: A federal appeals court on Monday, September 21, ruled that Missouri must use a GOP-drawn congressional map in the November 2026 general election, siding with Republican challengers to the state’s older district boundaries.

The US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit said Missouri’s use of the 2022 map after conducting its August primary under the newer map would violate the US Constitution. The ruling, however, does not take immediate effect after the court delayed its implementation for one week to allow further appeals.

Appeals court says Missouri must use map from August primary

A three-judge panel of the Eighth Circuit directed a federal district judge to issue a permanent injunction preventing Missouri from using any congressional map other than the one adopted by the Republican-controlled legislature in 2025. The panel said Missouri must use the same district boundaries for the November general election as it used in the August primary.

“The Constitution does not permit Missouri to use a different congressional district map in the November 2026 general election than it used in the August 2026 general election,” the appeals panel wrote in its decision.

The ruling reverses the immediate status of a dispute that has already reached the US Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has twice blocked the Trump-backed map from being used in the November election, most recently leaving Missouri set to use the congressional boundaries from the 2022 and 2024 elections.

Under the 2025 map, Missouri’s eight congressional districts were redrawn in a way that breaks up the Kansas City base of Democratic Rep Emanuel Cleaver’s 5th Congressional District and extends the district into areas that are more Republican-leaning. Republicans currently hold six of Missouri’s eight House seats.

The appeals court relied on estimates presented by a conservative group involved in the case, concluding that “more than 1.4 million Missourians could not vote for the congressional district nominees who will appear on their November 2026 general election ballot, and more than a quarter-million Missourians who voted in the August 2026 primary election cast a vote for a congressional district candidate who now cannot represent them.”

Supreme Court appeal expected as ballots already distributed

The appeals court ordered that its ruling will remain on hold for a week, leaving the 2022 map in place for now, and allowing opponents to seek emergency relief from the Supreme Court. The group People Not Politicians, which led a referendum effort challenging the new map, announced that they would appeal.

“Ballots have been printed, and Missourians have already voted,” the group said in a statement. “Thousands more will vote before this order seeks to take effect. Officials should stop wasting taxpayers’ money on pointless legal action and instead focus on administering our elections.”

However, Election administrators have already begun preparations using the older congressional boundaries. Absentee ballots have been sent to overseas and military voters under those districts, while state law requires absentee ballots to be available to other voters by Tuesday, September 22.

Election officials have warned that changing district boundaries at this stage could require substantial administrative work and additional costs.