Yesterday afternoon, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Missouri's latest gambit to plow ahead with a new gerrymandered congressional map. The state Supreme Court had ordered that map not be used in 2026 as a result of a ballot initiative effort mounted by the voters of Missouri.
Moments after the Supreme Court's order was released, as if on cue, a federal district court judge blocked the prior map from being used. The Republican Secretary of State then announced he would proceed with the new gerrymandered map that the state Supreme Court has blocked.
By the end of the day, emergency motions had been filed in nearly every court. As of this morning, we are awaiting decisions to see which map will be used.
Buried in the back-and-forth of motions last night was a clear-eyed order from Missouri's Chief Justice aimed at the GOP Secretary of State:
"Respondent Denny Hoskins is hereby ordered to show cause, if any, why he should not be held in contempt for violating this Court's injunction dated September 3, 2026, entered before the statutory deadline of September 8, 2026, and before the temporary restraining order entered by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri of that same date."
The immediate reaction of many observers is to declare this entire affair a mess. I reject that framing. This is not a mess...
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