by Misty Severi
Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh on Tuesday declined to lift a block on the use of a new congressional map in Missouri in time for the November midterms, meaning the state will need to use its previous map despite using the updated one in the primaries.
Kavanaugh denied a request from Missouri Republicans in a one-sentence order without explanation, minutes before the statutory deadline approached to lock in the state’s ballot, according to The Hill. The justice handles all emergency cases that stem from Missouri.
The ruling comes after the state used the new map, which favors Republicans 7-1, in their primaries last month but must now use the old map that favored Republicans in a 6-2 split in the general election.
After Kavanaugh’s ruling, a federal judge said the state needs to use its 2025 version of its congressional map for the November election.
Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe said, “We are grateful for Chief Judge Clark’s decision to provide much-needed clarity for Missouri voters and the election process. With today marking the deadline for changes to the November ballot, the Missouri First Map will be used in the general election. Voters and candidates deserve consistency, certainty, and not to have the rules changed between elections.”
Missouri’s attorney general, Catherine Hanaway, said the state “is prepared to follow and comply with Chief Judge Clark’s order that binds the state to using the Missouri FIRST map for the November General Election. ”
“We maintain that changing the congressional map in between the primary and general elections is simply not feasible and profoundly unjust to Missouri voters,” she added.
The move also comes after Kavanaugh declined to hear an emergency application last week regarding a Michigan voting rights group’s petition for their citizens-only voting proposal to be added to the November ballot.
The Americans for Citizen Voting-Michigan was seeking to appeal a deadlocked decision by the Michigan Board of State Canvassers that left the proposal off the November general election ballot due to a lack of valid petition signatures.
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Misty Severi is a reporter for Just the News. Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network and contributed to this story.
