US Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh on Tuesday denied Missouri’s emergency request to use a redrawn congressional map for November’s midterm elections, leaving in place a Missouri Supreme Court ruling that bars the new districts from taking effect until voters weigh in.

Kavanaugh issued the order in Hoskins v. von Glahn, without referring the matter to the full court and without providing an explanation. The decision leaves Missouri’s 2022 congressional map in place for November, blocking a redistricting law in House Bill 1 (HB 1) enacted by the Missouri General Assembly in a special session in September 2025.

Respondent Richard von Glahn and the group People Not Politicians Missouri launched a referendum petition against HB 1 shortly after its passage, submitting more than 300,000 signatures to the Secretary of State Denny Hoskins in December of 2025. Under the Missouri Constitution, a timely and sufficient referendum petition suspends challenged legislation unless and until voters approve it.

Hoskins waited until August 4, 2026, which was the day of Missouri’s primary election, to reject the petition on the grounds that the Missouri Constitution does not permit referendums on congressional redistricting. The Missouri Supreme Court unanimously reversed that determination on September 3, finding HB 1 “is not the law and has never been the law,” ordering the 2022 map restored and the question placed on the November ballot as Proposition A.

Missouri officials brought an emergency application to the Supreme Court arguing that switching maps after 1.2 million Missourians had already voted in August primaries under the new districts would create a “federal-election-administration disaster.” In their opposition, von Glahn’s attorneys noted that the Missouri Attorney General had publicly stated in January that “delay works in our favor” arguing that the timing problem was entirely self-inflicted.

Previously, the dispute arose during a September 2025 special legislative session when the new boundaries were narrowly approved in a 21-11 vote. Receiving backing from Republican legislators and President Donald J. Trump, the map had aimed to redraw the state’s long-standing Fifth Congressional District to favor a conservative candidate. The announcement of this effort received pushback from Representative Emanuel Cleaver, the incumbent congressman who called it an “unconstitutional gerrymander.”

Although the Supreme Court’s legal ruling has been hailed as a victory by Democrats and voting rights activists, Chief Judge Stephen Clark’s later granting of a temporary restraining order (TRO) requiring that Missouri conduct the upcoming elections under the HB 1 map has created a major state-versus-federal constitutional issue. Attorney General Catherine Hanaway in a post on X, has confirmed that Missouri would act in full compliance of Judge Clark’s orders. Where this leaves the contesting legal rulings, and which ruling will ultimately prevail remain unanswered.