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🇵🇾 Paraguay /Elections & Politics

Missouri Supreme Court blocks Trump-backed congressional map and orders referendum

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire Named sources In the courts
  • Missouri’s Supreme Court ruled unanimously that a referendum petition challenging the new congressional map was valid.
  • The decision blocks use of the map in the November 3 elections and restores district boundaries drawn after the 2020 census.
  • Attorney General Catherine Hanaway said she will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, calling the ruling a “constitutional crisis.”

Missouri’s Supreme Court has stopped the state from using a Republican-backed congressional map in November’s midterm elections and ordered voters to decide its fate.

The unanimous ruling found that a referendum petition supported by more than 300,000 signatures was valid. Secretary of State Denny Hoskins, a Republican, had rejected the petition and prevented voters from weighing in. The court ruled that he acted improperly.

The map, approved by the state legislature in September 2025, split the current Kansas City district in a way intended to benefit Republicans. The redesign aimed to shift Missouri’s eight-member House delegation from six Republicans and two Democrats to seven Republicans and one Democrat. It also made reelection more difficult for Democratic Congressman Emanuel Cleaver by adding rural areas with Republican majorities to his district, according to local media.

Republican state Senator Rick Brattin won his party’s primary to contest the seat, while Cleaver faced no Democratic primary challenger. Although the new map was used in August’s primaries, the court ruled it cannot be used in November. The November 3 ballot will instead use the post-2020 census boundaries and include a referendum on whether to retain the new map.

Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway said she would appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court and called it a “constitutional crisis.” The case forms part of a national fight over congressional redistricting before the end of the decade, with Republicans in Texas and other states pursuing changes to increase their House representation, while Democrats have backed similar initiatives.

constitutional crisis

· Catherine HanawayMissouri’s attorney general used the phrase when announcing an appeal of the ruling.
About this summary

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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