Missouri's legal fight over a congressional map was thrown into chaos on Tuesday after two distinctly different federal court decisions.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh denied a last-minute bid from Missouri Republicans to overrule a state Supreme Court ruling that barred election officials from using a 2025 congressional map aimed at ousting Democratic Congressman Emanuel Cleaver. Missouri's high court had ruled that People Not Politicians' referendum must go on the November ballot, and that therefore the 2022 lines with a district that Cleaver is guaranteed to win will be in effect.
But minutes after Kavanaugh denied that move from Secretary of State Denny Hoskins and Catherine Hanaway, U.S. District Judge Stephen Clark issued a temporary restraining order in a separate lawsuit involving two congressional candidates barring Hoskins from "implementing, using, publishing, distributing, or mandating the use of any congressional map other than the [2025 plan] for the Nov. 3 election."
"Missouri already held its primaries using the HB 1 map," Clark wrote. "Using a different map for the general election would wreak havoc on the fairness and orderliness of Missouri's congressional elections, calling into question the candidacy of those nominated in the primaries and the votes of those who voted in the primaries. Widespread voter confusion would inevitably follow. The public interest factor thus weighs in favor of a [temporary restraining order]."
Attorneys for People Not Politicians immediately appealed Clark's decision to the 8th District Court of Appeals. Congressman Bob Onder of St. Charles County and state Sen. Rick Brattin, R-Harrisonville, who is running against Cleaver, filed the suit over the weekend.
Clark's restraining order prompted wildly different reactions from Republicans who support the map, opponents of the redistricting plan and elections officials. Hanaway and Hoskins said in statements that the 2025 map is in effect for the November general election.
"I think the message from Judge Clark was very clear that the Missouri First map is in effect," Hoskins said in a telephone interview. "I've agreed that we don't want to disenfranchise over a million voters that voted in the congressional primaries on the new maps. "
But People Not Politicians Executive Director Richard von Glahn and the group's attorney, Chuck Hatfield, said Clark's ruling did not explicitly overturn the Missouri Supreme Court's ruling from last Thursday that bars elections officials from using the 2025 map in the fall.
"Based on Eastern District Judge Clark's subsequent decision the Secretary of State Hoskins and Attorney General are now defying the Missouri Supreme Court and instructing election clerks to use the [2025] maps," von Glahn said in a statement. "People Not Politicians Missouri and our attorneys will be filing an appeal and a request for a stay in the 8th Circuit Court and with Justice Kavanaugh."
Hatfield said during a press conference that an "individual federal district judge does not have the authority to overrule a decision of a state supreme court." He filed an emergency order with the Missouri Supreme Court to hold Hoskins in contempt for telling elections officials to use the 2025 maps.
"The Secretary's direction to local election authorities to use HB 1 is a direct violation of this court's injunction," Hatfield wrote. "He should be ordered to immediately show cause and be held in contempt. This Court should make clear that regardless of other orders (except from the United States Supreme Court) the Missouri Secretary of State must comply with this court's injunction. The Court should instruct all local election authorities that HB 1 is not the law and has never been the law."
Late on Tuesday, Missouri Supreme Court Chief Justice Brent Powell ordered Hoskins to appear before the court on Thursday and "show cause, if any, why he should not be held in contempt for violating this Court's injunction." He was order to explain why his email to election officials to use the 2025 map "is not an affirmative violation of this Court's injunction" – and why the court's injunction from last week "is not still in full force and effect in light of the Supreme Court of the United States' overruling of Respondent's emergency application for stay and administrative stay pending appeal."
Hoskins said in a post on X that he was "looking forward to his day in court.
He told STLPR that Brattin and Onder's case is different from what Kavanaugh considered. For one thing, Hoskins said the Brattin-Onder case involves candidates seeking relief from a court – while the case that went to Kavanaugh involved Hoskins, a statewide official, asking the high court to act.
"I believe that the federal court does trump the Missouri Supreme Court," Hoskins said. "[Judge Clark] filed a temporary restraining order and said that the 2022 map should not be used, and that we should use the [2025 map] in November."
Missouri Republicans passed the redistricting map last year at the behest of President Donald Trump, who started a nationwide effort to reshape the voting maps in the GOP's favor for the midterm elections. At stake is control of the U.S. House, now narrowly held by Republicans. Overall, their party tilted about 10 more seats their way than Democrats did, but any seat could be key in swinging control.
Election officials flummoxed
Elections officials contacted by St. Louis Public Radio said they were caught between a rock and a hard place.
"We have diametrically opposed issues because we've got the Supreme Court of Missouri saying that we have to use [the 2022 map]; otherwise we'll be in violation of their order," said Boone County Clerk Brianna Lennon. "And then we have the federal court saying that we can't use them; otherwise, we'll be in violation of the federal court."
Lennon also said the fact that Clark's decision came so soon after Kavanaugh denying Hoskins' appeal of the Missouri Supreme Court case is breeding mass confusion.
"I'm not sure what part of the decisions voters will now know," Lennon said. "So now we're going to have to educate voters that heard half of the story, that heard all of the story, that only heard the part about the Supreme Court. And I think that's going to be the most problematic part about this because most people were only paying attention to the Supreme Court part."
St. Charles County Elections Director Kurt Bahr said his county will, for now, create ballots using the 2025 maps. But he said the uncertainty over whether Clark's decision will actually stand is putting elections officials in a difficult position, especially with military ballots needing to go out on Sept. 18 and early voting starting soon.
"If we print ballots and then the maps change, then we're going to have to print new ballots, and that's a cost," Bahr said. "But there's also the bigger concern of can we get the ballots printed in a timely manner? And can we make sure that you know voters have access to those ballots for the totality of the six weeks of absentee voting?"
St. Louis County Elections Director Eric Fey said his agency is still assessing what to do but added that, like Bahr and Lennon, it's trying to sort through the difficult legal situation.
"I have heard from other clerks across the state of Missouri that they're equally as confused," Fey said. "It's just too early to say yet exactly what everybody's going to do or how they're going to handle the situation."
This story has been updated.
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