JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld a mid-decade redistricting plan that gives Republicans an improved chance at winning an additional U.S. House seat in this year's midterm elections.
The decision marks a legal victory for President Donald Trump in a nationwide redistricting battle. But it may not be the final word. Opponents have submitted more than 300,000 petition signatures in an attempt to put the new map to a statewide vote.
Missouri's Republican-led Legislature approved new U.S. House districts in September at the urging of Trump, shortly after Texas Republicans also redrew their congressional districts. Trump is hoping the new districts could help the GOP hold on to its narrow majority in the House, where Democrats need to gain only a few sets in November to win control and impede Trump's agenda.
Opponents had argued that Missouri’s constitution allows redistricting only immediately after a census — not in the middle of a decade. But the state’s high court rejected that argument in a 4-3 decision, concluding there was no explicit prohibition against the Legislature doing redistricting more often.
Missouri's new districts are drawing a crowd
Missouri currently is represented in the U.S. House by six Republicans and two Democrats under a map passed in 2022 after the most recent census. The new map is intended to help Republicans win a Kansas City-area seat currently held by Democratic U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver by reassigning portions to two neighboring districts and stretching the remainder into Republican-heavy rural areas.
A trial court recently rejected a separate legal challenge contending that the new districts violate state requirements to be compact. That decision also is being appealed to the Missouri Supreme Court.
With one week remaining before Missouri’s candidate filing deadline, six Republicans already have entered a primary seeking to run against Cleaver. They will be doing so under the new map, according to the declaration of Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway and Secretary of State Denny Hoskins, who are both Republicans.
But that could still be subject to change. A trial judge has yet to rule on another lawsuit from opponents contending that the referendum signatures should automatically suspend the new map until a vote can be held on it during the November election.
“We lost a battle today, but the war to stop this unfair redistricting goes on,” said attorney Chuck Hatfield, who represented the plaintiffs.
'When' redistricting occurs can make a difference
The Missouri Supreme Court's ruling centered on the meaning of the word “when” in a state constitutional provision that says the General Assembly shall redraw congressional districts “when” new census data is certified.
Attorneys for voters who sued argued the provision means redistricting only is allowed when there is new census data, which isn't currently the case.
But the attorney general's office and the Missouri Republican State Committee argued that “when” merely sets the minimum of post-census redistricting. They said lawmakers are free to redistrict whenever they want, because the state constitution contains no explicit limitation with words such as “shall not” or “solely” or “only.”
“The Missouri Supreme Court has reinforced what we’ve known all along — the Missouri FIRST Map and mid-decade redistricting are constitutional," Hanaway said in a statement.
Republican Party attorney Marc Ellinger said the ruling gives the GOP greater confidence to recruit and fund candidates.
The Supreme Court also provided another victory to Republicans on Tuesday, upholding the state's voter photo identification requirement while determining that the plaintiffs lacked legal standing to challenge it.
A third ruling Tuesday went against Republican lawmakers. The court struck down several provisions in a 2022 voting law, including ones prohibiting the solicitation of absentee ballot applications and requiring people to register with the state to solicit more than 10 voter registration applications. The high court said that violated constitutional free speech rights.
New Missouri districts are part of a broader battle
The fight over Missouri's congressional districts is one of several similar battles nationally.
After Texas and Missouri adopted new U.S. House districts, Republican-led North Carolina and Ohio also revised their districts in a way that could help Republicans gain seats. But voters in California countered in November by approving new districts that could help Democrats win more seats.
In November, a Utah judge adopted a redistricting plan that could help Democrats win one of the state's four U.S. House seats, after ruling that the Republican-led Legislature had circumvented anti-gerrymandering standards passed by voters. Democratic lawmakers in Virginia also have taken a step toward mid-decade redistricting by referring a measure authorizing it to the April 21 ballot. The Virginia Supreme Court is considering a legal challenge seeking to invalidate the measure.
Florida is set to join the fray later in April with a special legislative session on congressional redistricting.
It's unclear whether all the maneuvering ultimately will make a difference in which party controls Congress.