U.S. Supreme Court ruling mandates use of 2022 congressional election map

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The U.S. Supreme Court granted a stay on injections granted by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri on Friday, ensuring the 2022 congressional map will be used for the November 2026 election.

The order from the Justice Brett Kavanaugh will remain in effect "pending any further order of [the] court lifting such stays." The court further ordered the District Court and Court of Appeals "should not enjoin or otherwise prohibit the use of the 2022 map in the 2026 congressional election in Missouri."

It further said the courts should not order or require Missouri to use the 2025 map in the election.

The ruling is the latest in a series of legal maneuvers between Missouri Republicans, who redrew the state's congressional district boundaries in 2025 to turn Kansas City from a Democratic seat to a Republican one, and People Not Politicians, who opposed the redistricting.

Missouri used the 2025 map in the August primaries, but since then, questions have persisted about what using the older 2022 map in November would mean for voters.

In his ruling, Kavanaugh noted that "ballots using the 2022 map have been printed and mailed. Absentee voting has already begun, as has military and overseas voting."

"At this late date, ordering reversion to the 2025 map in the midst of an ongoing election would usher in electoral chaos," Kavanaugh said in his order.