Supreme Court keeps Missouri’s 2022 map, preserving Cleaver’s Kansas City district

The U.S. Supreme Court on September 25 halted lower-court orders that would have forced Missouri to use a Republican-drawn 2025 congressional map in November. The unsigned decision, issued without a noted dissent, says the state must continue using its 2022 districts for the 2026 election because the newer map cannot take effect under Missouri law unless voters approve it in a referendum.

The 2025 map was designed to improve Republicans’ chances of winning seven of Missouri’s eight U.S. House seats. It also reshaped the Kansas City-based district represented by Emanuel Cleaver, a longtime Black Democratic congressman, by moving parts of the city into neighboring Republican-held districts and extending the remainder farther into rural Republican areas.

Absentee voting has already begun under the older lines, and the Supreme Court said changing maps now would create electoral disorder. The ruling blocks use of the 2025 plan for this election; it does not erase the referendum or decide every future dispute over Missouri’s congressional boundaries. Cleaver said the decision strengthens his reelection prospects and affirms voters’ power to challenge legislative action through the referendum process.