Eighth Circuit revives GOP-gerrymandered Missouri map for third visit to Supreme Court

While reinstating the GOP-favored map, the appeals court issued a weeklong stay for appellate review.ST. LOUIS (CN) — An Eighth Circuit panel reinstated a Republican-friendly voting map Monday but delayed its implementation until next week, paving the way for a possible third trip to the U.S. Supreme Court to ultimately decide the case.The per curiam decision came four days after a special hearing Thursday.The judges found that using the previous map, created in 2022, in the November election after using the new map in the primaries this past August would be unconstitutional.“Article I, Section 2’s right to participate in the procedure of choosing a member of Congress requires continuity in the constituency throughout all stages of a single election," the three-judge panel said. “Changing district lines between the primary and general election prevents an affected voter from participating in either district’s complete procedure of choice.”However, the appeals court determined the lower court should stay its permanent injunction until Sept. 28 to allow for appellate review. Time is of the essence, with absentee voting scheduled to begin Tuesday. Military and overseas absentee ballots, using the previous map, were already sent out Saturday.“Though uncommon, this situation is not unprecedented,” the appeals court’s decision stated. “Courts around the country have ordered ballot changes after absentee ballots already have been distributed …"Responding to President Donald Trump’s call to redraw congressional districts outside the normal 10-year window, Missouri legislators passed a new map that would favor Republicans for seven of the state’s eight U.S. House seats. The current split is 6-2.The panel featured one George H.W. Bush appointee, U.S. Circuit Judge James B. Loken, and two Trump appointees: U.S. Circuit Judges David R. Stras and Justin D. Smith.Stras concurred in part and dissented in part, finding the intervenor, People Not Politicians and its executive director, Richard von Glahn, lacked standing to appeal the use of the gerrymandered map.“Nor do the filings say whether changing maps would require him [von Glahn] to vote in a different race or for a different candidate,” Stras said. “If he has been injured as a voter, he has not told us how.”Charles Hatfield, who represents People Not Politicians and von Glahn, emphasized the case is not over.“The Supreme Court of the United States has already stayed a temporary restraining order and allowed the election to go forward,” Hatfield said in an email to Courthouse News. “The secretary and local election authorities are required by the Missouri Supreme Court’s order to continue to conduct the election under the 2022 maps unless another valid order is entered.”Redistricting opponents submitted over 300,000 petition signatures to put the map to a vote, but Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins rejected them, claiming the state constitution doesn’t allow referendum petitions on congressional redistricting.But the Missouri Supreme Court tossed a lower court’s ruling in favor of Hoskins. The justices said the referendum petition effectively suspended the new districts retroactive to this past December, pending voter approval, even though the new maps were used in the August primary.U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, a Trump appointee, denied emergency relief to the state on Sept. 8, allowing the Missouri Supreme Court ruling to stand. But the same day, U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Clark, another Trump appointee, issued an injunction reinstating the gerrymandered map, finding voters would be disenfranchised by using different maps in the primary and general elections.Hoskins immediately said he would follow Clark’s ruling and instructed local election authorities to use the Republican-backed map, drawing the ire of the Missouri Supreme Court, which issued a contempt order to Hoskins.The issue returned the same week to the Supreme Court, which barred the gerrymandered map for use in the November election, pending the outcome of the appeal to the Eighth Circuit.Later that afternoon, Missouri’s high court found Hoskins in contempt for failing to comply with its redistricting ruling. When Hoskins relented and said he would use the 2022 map, Chief Justice W. Brent Powell said he “corrected his contemptuous conduct” and reversed the decision.Neither attorneys representing the plaintiffs nor the Missouri Attorney General’s office responded to a request for comment.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads