8th Circuit orders lower court to block 2022 map in Missouri gerrymander fight
Conservative appeals judges circumvent Supreme Court order, setting up a third SCOTUS intervention in the ongoing redistricting battle.
What to know
- An 8th Circuit appeals panel of three conservative judges has ordered a lower court to block Missouri's 2022 congressional map and implement a heavily gerrymandered 2025 map favoring Republicans 7-1, overriding a Supreme Court temporary restraining order.
- Voting is already underway in Missouri, with military ballots transmitted and absentee voting begun under the 2022 map, creating a conflict between two election systems.
- The Supreme Court will weigh in for the third time on this dispute, with Justice Kavanaugh setting a Wednesday afternoon deadline for responses from supporters of the 2025 map.
- The appellate panel justified their order using the Purcell principle, which normally discourages federal court interference with voting laws near elections, inverting it to argue they must preserve the possibility of restoring the original gerrymander.
8th Circuit Court of Appeals panel Appeals judges
Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court JusticePeople Not Politicians Anti-gerrymander advocacy group
Denny Hoskins Missouri Secretary of State (R)Missouri Supreme Court State court
How it unfolded 1 development · click the chart to see its coverage articlesposts
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People Not Politicians appeals to Supreme Court
People Not Politicians appealed the 8th Circuit decision to the Supreme Court late Tuesday. Justice Brett Kavanaugh responded by instructing supporters of the 2025 map to file responses by Wednesday afternoon.
“Missouri's 116 local election authorities are implementing the 2022 map — the only lawful map under Missouri law. Voting has already begun: military ballots were transmitted 3 September 18…”
— People Not Politicians, Anti-gerrymander advocacy group · source -
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https://www. europesays.com/thestates/9109/ Three Conservative Judges Lob SCOTUS Another, Long-Shot Chance to Jam Through Missouri Gerrymander # 8thCircuitCourtOfAppeals # BrettKavanaugh # gerrymander # missouri # MissouriLaw # MissouriSecretaryOfState # MissouriSupremeCourt # republicans # TemporaryRestrainingOrder # TheSupremeCourt
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background
People Not Politicians requests stay of appellate order — The anti-gerrymander group filed a request Monday for the appellate judges to stay their order, emphasizing that voting was already underway and military ballots had already been transmitted.
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8th Circuit panel orders block on 2022 map — An 8th Circuit Court of Appeals panel composed of two Trump appointees and one H.W. Bush appointee circumvented the Supreme Court's temporary restraining order and directed the lower court to enter a preliminary injunction blocking use of the 2022 map. The panel ruled that asking voters to vote under a different map in the general election than in the primaries violated the Constitution.
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Absentee voting begins in Missouri — Missouri voters began casting absentee ballots under the 2022 map.
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Military ballots transmitted under 2022 map — Military ballots were transmitted as required by law using the 2022 congressional map (6 Republicans to 2 Democrats).