WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh today denied Missouri’s emergency application to halt a unanimous Missouri Supreme Court ruling barring the mid-decade congressional gerrymander enacted at President Trump’s urging from taking effect before Missouri voters have their say.
The ruling means that this November’s general election will proceed under the congressional districts enacted in 2022. The new gerrymandered map, HB 1, will appear on the ballot as Proposition A and will only take effect for the 2028 election cycle if voters approve it.
Elias Law Group was proud to represent Richard von Glahn, Executive Director of People Not Politicians, to secure this victory in the U.S. Supreme Court.
“The Missouri Supreme Court made the right call in this case and Justice Kavanaugh was right to deny Missouri’s attempt to avoid the ruling of its highest court,” said Elias Law Group Partner Abha Khanna. “The state constitution is clear that Missourians should get the final word on whether their congressional map can undergo an extreme mid-decade gerrymander at President Trump’s request, and now they will. This is a win for democracy and for the hundreds of thousands of Missourians who signed a petition to make sure they would have a chance to weigh in on the gerrymandered HB 1 map.”
On September 3, the Missouri Supreme Court held unanimously that the state constitution’s referendum power extends to congressional redistricting, that the December 2025 petition was legal, sufficient, and timely, and that HB 1 therefore never took effect. As the court put it, HB 1 “is not the law and has never been the law.”
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