We've been zeroed in for months now on how Missouri's messy redistricting fight is playing out in the courts, breaking down all the rapid-moving legal developments. But tucked away in filings this week was a stark reminder of the on-the-ground consequences for Americans.

More than 1.4 million people would be affected by the gerrymander that Missouri Republicans adopted last year at Trump's request. That's roughly one in three voters statewide who'd shift between old and new districts, all thanks to the GOP's effort to eliminate a single Democratic seat in Kansas City. Missouri’s U.S. House delegation already has six Republicans and two Democrats.

The new map would widen that split to 7-1. Across the U.S., a recent Associated Press analysis found that, after Trump launched his nationwide gerrymander war, over 10% of U.S. residents now live in a different congressional district.

Which map Missouri will ultimately use this fall is now up to the U.S. Supreme Court, which is set to rule at any moment. (They had not as of press time, 6 p.m. EDT Thursday. You’ll have another email in your inbox with that update if they do.) It's the third time in as many weeks that the justices will weigh in on the matter.

Plus, in pushing for their gerrymander, Republicans are making an argument that could vastly expand the power of state lawmakers over the voting process.

➤ The latest in Missouri

The administration’s crusade to cobble together citizenship lists out of large data sets continues.

In a court filing this week*, the Department of Justice (DOJ) revealed plans to use the State Department’s passport data “for the purpose of verifying… voter eligibility.”

The DOJ filed a vaguely worded status report in Democrats’ ongoing legal challenge against the executive order Trump signed in March, which directed the Department of Homeland Security to work with Social Security Administration records and “other relevant Federal databases” to create lists of every voting-age citizen in each state.

The administration’s decision to burn tens of thousands of hours of staff time on hunting down the handful of noncitizens who might be improperly registered to vote has been marked by embarrassing errors and troubling allegations of broken laws and defied court orders. But, along with the government’s other anti-voting steps, it also threatens to create a sense of fear and intimidation around the process, especially for certain communities. The use of passport data may only add to the chilling effect.

* Disclosure: The Elias Law Group (ELG) represents plaintiffs in this case. ELG Firm Chair Marc Elias is the founder of Democracy Docket.

 ➤ Why this is concerning

I can’t tell you how often I’m itching to know what’s going on behind the scenes at the government agencies we cover. Oh, what I would give to be a fly on the wall in the Department of Justice’s voting section, or during the Department of Homeland Security’s election integrity briefings — just to know what kind of shady stuff they’re up to when they think no one’s looking.

Wish granted this week when the good folks at Democracy Forward sent us a trove of U.S. Election Commission (EAC) emails unearthed from a FOIA lawsuit.

It did not disappoint.

Buried within the hundreds of emails we received were exchanges between Christy McCormick, the former Republican vice chair of the commission, and Cleta Mitchell’s anti-voting group, the Election Integrity Network (EIN). McCormick was communicating with one of EIN’s leaders about a public comment period from last fall opened by the agency on whether to require documentary proof of citizenship on the federal voter registration form.

Though the saga may well be over — McCormick was allowed to resign this summer amid Trump’s dismantling of the EAC’s leadership — the emails show how a leader of the independent, nonpartisan agency was in touch with some of the most dangerous election deniers working tirelessly to rollback voting rights.

➤ Read the full exclusive

Odds and ends

➤ California Supreme Court orders GOP sheriff to return seized
ballots, affirms state’s power over local law enforcement

➤ Pennsylvania starts voting under federal scrutiny. Here’s what we’re watching

➤ Top election officials prepare to prevent and prosecute election interference

➤ Appeals court greenlights Ohio GOP’s voter registration proof of citizenship requirement for midterms

➤ ‘Hypocritical’: RNC pushes mail voting for its supporters while attacking it in court

Slack message of the week

What you can do