Ballot deadline looms as federal court hears map challenge

By Jordan Davis, Missouri News Network
State officials are making one last push in a federal appeals court to use the 2025 HB 1 congressional map favoring Republicans in the November midterm elections.
Secretary of State Denny Hoskins and U.S. Rep. Bob Onder are at the forefront of the argument, which comes after Hoskins told local election officials last week to use the 2022 congressional map in adherence with the Missouri Supreme Court’s order.
The Eighth Federal District Court in St. Louis is set to hear the congressional map arguments on Thursday. Whatever the court’s decision, another appeal is expected to the U.S. Supreme Court, which has twice declined to get involved.
Any rulings in the case, while settling what map Missouri will use in the general election, could also set a precedent for other states facing similar arguments in future elections.
Over the last year, the 2025 gerrymandered map has caused the group People Not Politicians to take action. Setting out across the state in the weeks after HB 1 passed the legislature, the group collected over 300,000 signatures from residents seeking a popular vote on the map before it would be used.
Delays in certifying the petition led to the map being used in the Aug. 4 primary election. On the day of the primary, Hoskins rejected the petition. Multiple federal and state court hearings ensued, and differing interpretations of state versus federal law by the courts pushed both parties to appeal again.
Two weeks ago, the Missouri Supreme Court ordered that the 2022 maps be used in the general election. The court also held Hoskins in contempt for pushing county clerks to use the 2025 map instead.
Hoskins argued he was following a federal court order, but he backed down when the U.S. Supreme Court lifted that order during the recess of his contempt hearing. Hoskins then ordered clerks to follow the state Supreme Court’s ruling and use the 2022 map.
Republican candidates such as Onder and state Sen. Rick Brattin, R-Harrisonville, whose candidacies are directly benefited by the 2025 map, are still pushing the federal court to rule in favor of the new map.
Proponents of the new map argue that using the 2022 map in November denies the voting rights of those who voted in primaries using the new map.
If the circuit court rules to keep the 2022 map, Boone County records show that 21,000 of the 46,000 citizens who voted in the August primary in the county would see a different ballot.
The Fifth District contest between Brattin and incumbent Democrat U.S. Rep. Emmanuel Cleaver would no longer be on the Boone County ballot. They would be replaced by incumbent Republican Rep. Mark Alford and Democrat Jordan Herrera in the Fourth District contest.
Ballots must be mailed out to overseas voters by Friday, meaning the circuit court is under pressure to issue a verdict shortly after the hearing. Regular absentee ballots are set to be mailed out next week.