Skip to content
Hugin
A pair of worn steel dividers standing open on their two points on a dark slate table.

Hugin News

The Supreme Court says Missouri will elect its eight U.S. House members on November 3 inside the 2022 district lines, not the 2025 map used in the August primary, and tells the lower federal courts not to order otherwise; it is a stay, not a ruling on the merits.

4 min read

Original editorial artwork generated for Hugin.

In an unsigned five-page opinion in No. 26A388, People Not Politicians v. Onder, issued September 25, 2026, the Supreme Court stayed a federal district court's September 21 and September 22 injunctions, which in effect required Missouri to use its 2025 congressional map in the November 3 general election, along with the Eighth Circuit's September 21 mandate and September 22 order. On September 3 the Missouri Supreme Court had ruled that the 2025 map 'is not the law and has never been the law' and will not take effect unless voters approve it by referendum, leaving the 2022 map in force. Citing the Purcell principle, the Court said ballots using the 2022 map 'have been printed and mailed' and that absentee, military and overseas voting has begun. It also rejected the Eighth Circuit's view that the state court caused the late change, saying the Missouri Secretary of State 'was well aware' before the August primary that using the 2025 map 'carried significant risks'. The order notes no dissent and does not decide the constitutional question. Missouri's last day to register for the November election is October 7.

supreme-courtmissouriredistrictingelectionscongressreferendum
5source receipts2source hosts4 minread timelinkedprimary source

Missouri voters will elect their U.S. House members on November 3 inside the district lines drawn in 2022. On September 25 the Supreme Court said so in an unsigned five-page opinion that notes no dissent:

And the District Court and Court of Appeals should not order or otherwise require Missouri to use the 2025 map in the 2026 congressional election in Missouri.

It rules on a stay, not on the constitutional question.

Two maps and a referendum

Missouri enacted a congressional map in 2022 and a new one, House Bill 1, in 2025. People Not Politicians, the group behind a referendum petition on the new map, is the lead applicant here. On September 3, 2026, the Missouri Supreme Court, all judges concurring, held the petition "legal, sufficient, and timely" and wrote that HB 1 "is not the law and has never been the law". It ordered the referendum onto the November ballot; HB 1 takes effect only if voters approve it, and then "30 days thereafter".

But the August 4 primary had already run on the 2025 map. Voters and candidates, including Congressman Robert Onder, sued in federal court, arguing the Constitution requires Missouri to use the map its primary used. A district court's September 8 restraining order in effect required it; the Supreme Court stayed it on September 10; on September 21 the Eighth Circuit ordered a permanent injunction requiring the 2025 map. Judge Stras, dissenting in part, would have dismissed the appeal for lack of standing.

Who the Court says caused the late change

The Eighth Circuit had blamed the Missouri Supreme Court's September 3 decision for the late change. The Supreme Court disagreed, pointing to a May 2026 state supreme court opinion that had already said the 2025 map would not take effect until voters approved it, at least if the petition was legally sufficient:

So in the several-month period before the August primary election, the Missouri Secretary of State was well aware that conducting the August primary election with the 2025 map carried significant risks. The Secretary nonetheless chose to proceed with the 2025 map for the primary.

The Missouri Supreme Court had written on September 3 that the secretary's "delay created the confusion, expense, and practical difficulties of which he complains". By that court's account, he certified the petition insufficient at about 4:00 p.m. on August 4, the last day allowed and the day of the primary.

Why the calendar decided it

The Purcell principle cautions federal courts against changing election rules close to an election. The Court said it applies "with even greater force here":

The election is not merely upcoming; it has already started. Ballots using the 2022 map have been printed and mailed. Absentee voting has already begun, as has military and overseas voting.

What a Missouri voter should know

  • Your U.S. House race uses the 2022 districts, possibly not the district you voted in at the August primary. The Eighth Circuit, whose order is now stayed, said 57% of residents of the Fifth District as drawn in 2025 "will find themselves in other districts" under the 2022 map.
  • The same ballot asks whether to approve the 2025 map (referendum petition 2026-R004). Under the state court's ruling, approval would not move this year's districts.
  • October 7, 2026 is the last day to register for the November 3 general election, per the Secretary of State's calendar.
  • Absentee voting for most voters began September 22, as the Eighth Circuit described state law.

What the order does not decide

  • The constitutional question. The Court said its precedents "have not previously stated that Article I, Section 2 requires a state to use the primary election map in a general election" and that "it suffices that the merits are not entirely clearcut".
  • The one-in-four figure. The Eighth Circuit wrote that "one-in-four Missourians had no opportunity to choose the congressional nominees that will appear on their November 2026 ballot". That sits in a decision now stayed; the Supreme Court did not address it.
  • How nominees were placed. The opinion does not explain how candidates chosen in 2025-map districts were assigned to 2022-map districts.
  • Permanence. The new stays hold "absent any further order of this Court", and the September 10 stay "likewise remains in effect pending any further order of this Court lifting that stay".
  • Standing. The Court said only that "at least one of the applicants has standing on appeal".

Source links