BREAKING: Red State Supreme Court Strikes Down Congressional Map, Awards Dems A House Seat
The Missouri Supreme Court ruled on Thursday, September 3, that a 2025 congressional redistricting law known as House Bill 1 cannot be used for the November 2026 general election unless voters approve it in a referendum. The ruling strikes down a reconfigured congressional map in which Republicans were favored to win seven of the state’s eight congressional seats and reinstates the previous 6-2 map, effectively ensuring a Democrat hold in November.
The decision, which was issued in von Glahn v. Hoskins, reversed a lower-court ruling and directed Secretary of State Denny Hoskins to certify the referendum petition for the November 3 ballot.
The court held that Article III, Section 49 of the Missouri Constitution reserves to the people the power to approve or reject by referendum “any act of the general assembly, except as hereinafter provided.” The specified exceptions cover certain appropriations and emergency measures necessary for the immediate preservation of public peace, health, or safety. The opinion further stated that no exception applies to congressional redistricting legislation.
As a result, HB 1 never took effect. Under the constitution, a referred measure takes effect only when approved by a majority of votes cast. The congressional districts established in 2022 therefore remain in force for the November 2026 general election.
The court enjoined the secretary of state and those acting in concert with him from implementing or mandating use of the HB 1 districts for that election. HB 1 would take effect only if approved by voters and 30 days thereafter.
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The Missouri Supreme Court blocks the 7R-1D congressional map from being used for the 2026 midterms and reinstates the old 6R-2D map for the upcoming November election. https://t.co/NFjM03BTMS pic.twitter.com/DlMgU335qN
— Politics & Poll Tracker 📡 (@PollTracker2024) September 3, 2026
HB 1 was enacted during a special legislative session in September 2025 and signed by Gov. Mike Kehoe on September 28, 2025. The prior map, adopted in 2022 after the 2020 census, produced a 6-2 Republican-Democratic split in Missouri’s eight-member U.S. House delegation.
The 2025 map reconfigured districts in the Kansas City area, dividing the city across multiple districts and extending the 5th District, then held by Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, into more rural counties. Analyses of 2024 presidential results indicated the new lines would produce seven Republican-leaning districts and one Democratic-leaning district, all but ensuring a Republican pick-up.
Earlier challenges to the map itself were unsuccessful. In March 2026 the court ruled 4-3 that the constitution does not prohibit mid-decade congressional redistricting. And in May, it unanimously upheld the map against claims that it violated compactness, contiguity, and equal-population requirements in Article III, Section 45. The court stated its review was limited to legality rather than the map’s prudence or popularity and found challengers had not met their burden of proof.
A group called People Not Politicians submitted more than 305,000 signatures in December 2025 seeking the referendum. Hoskins declined to certify the petition on August 4, 2026, concluding that congressional redistricting is not subject to referendum. A Cole County circuit court agreed on August 19. The Supreme Court reversed that judgment after arguments on September 2.
Election officials must now administer the November general election under the 2022 districts. This creates a mismatch with the August primary, which used the later map. Local authorities will need to adjust precinct assignments, ballots, and voter notifications. The referendum itself will appear on the November 3 ballot, allowing voters to approve or reject HB 1.
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