[UPDATE] Supreme Court blocks Missouri from using 7-1 Republican map in November

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday, Sept. 10 stayed (a pause while the appeal runs, not a final ruling) a federal judge's Sept. 8 order that had forced Missouri to use a new 7-1 Republican map. The unsigned order gave no reasons and listed zero dissents. The state's 2022 6-2 lines now govern the Nov. 3, 2026 general election while the Eighth Circuit appeal continues. The mismatch. Missourians could now see different congressional choices in November than they saw in the August primary, per an AP estimate. Local offices must rebuild precinct and ballot assignments around the old lines, with August winners staying certified by district number and no replacement primary announced. The contempt. Secretary of State Denny Hoskins hours after the order told counties to use the 2022 map, reversing his own post-Sept. 8 directive to use the 2025 lines. The Missouri Supreme Court found that earlier defiance was civil contempt (disobeying a court order, cleared by complying) of its Sept. 3 order barring the 2025 map, then ruled Hoskins had purged it by complying and imposed no fine or jail time. What next. Counties must finalize ballots under federal election deadlines for Nov. 3, when voters also decide Proposition A on whether the 2025 map takes effect for future elections.