Democrats in Missouri have been trying to change the state’s congressional district map between the primary election and the general election, and now an appeals court has made a decision, a move that could send the fight back to the U.S. Supreme Court for a third time.
According to a Courthousenews report, that decision came from a panel of judges at the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The new map, used for the primary, probably gives the Republican Party an advantage in seven out of the state’s eight districts. The previous map gave the Democrats an advantage in two.
The report said the judges found that using the previous map, created in 2022, in the November election after using the new map in the primaries this past August would be unconstitutional.
“Article I, Section 2’s right to participate in the procedure of choosing a member of Congress requires continuity in the constituency throughout all stages of a single election,” the judges concluded.
“Changing district lines between the primary and general election prevents an affected voter from participating in either district’s complete procedure of choice.”
It then issued a one-week stay to allow for appeals.
Missouri lawmakers had adopted the new boundaries that would change the likely advantage from 6-2 Republican to 7-1 Republican in the eight districts.
The political organization called People Not Politicians sued, and lawyer Charles Hatfield, representing the group, claimed election officials are required by the state Supreme Court to use the old map, from 2022.
The fight already has been up and down the court system for weeks.
At the Supreme Court, Justice Brett Kavanaugh earlier denied emergency relief, only to have a lower court judge warn that using different maps for the general would disenfranchise voters, unconstitutionally.
The high court also later rejected a subsequent request to intervene.
