Appeals court favors Trump-backed Missouri congressional map, but Supreme Court will have final say

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A long-running legal fight over Missouri’s congressional map took another turn Monday when a federal appeals panel ruled in favor of new districts backed by President Donald Trump, even though the U.S. Supreme Court has blocked those districts from being used in the November election.

A three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Missouri should use the new Republican-drawn U.S. House districts in the November election, just as the state did in its August primary. To revert to its prior districts for the general election would violate the U.S. Constitution, the appeals judges said.

However, the ruling has no immediate impact. That’s because the federal appellate panel delayed the effect of its order for a week to allow time for an appeal. The U.S. Supreme Court already has twice sided against the Trump-backed map and had blocked enforcement of a lower court order favoring the map pending a potential appeal and eventual decision by the high court.

Missouri currently is set to run its November election with the same congressional districts it used in 2024 and 2022, following prior decisions by both the Missouri Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Local elections officials already have sent absentee ballots to overseas citizens and military voters using those districts. State law requires absentee ballots to be available to all other voters by Tuesday.