MO Supreme Court Hears Arguments On Gerrymandered Redistricting Map

And astoundingly, the MAGA Republicans argued in front of the Supreme Court that they plan on defying court orders if they rule against them.
By Heather — September 3, 2026

And astoundingly, the MAGA Republicans argued in front of the Supreme Court that they plan to defy court orders if they rule against them. Or maybe it shouldn't be that astounding since they're taking a page straight out of the Trump playbook, and we've got an election denier for Attorney General in Missouri.

Democracy Docket laid this out a couple of weeks ago: Missouri Supreme Court swiftly takes up fight over voters’ right to challenge GOP gerrymander:

The Missouri Supreme Court moved Thursday to immediately take up the fight over whether voters can challenge Republicans’ new congressional gerrymander through a referendum, bypassing an appeals court to fast-track the case just weeks before ballots must be finalized.

The court, acting on its own, transferred the case directly to itself one day after pro-voting plaintiff, People Not Politicians Executive Director Richard von Glahn, asked an appellate court to review a ruling that upheld Secretary of State Denny Hoskins’ (R) decision to block the referendum.

The justices said they were taking the case “because of the general interest or importance of the legal issues involved in this matter.” [...]

Oral arguments are scheduled for Sept. 2 — just six days before the Sept. 8 deadline to finalize the November ballot. That’s the same day the court has already scheduled a hearing on a related case over signatures in support of the referendum.

The pro-voting plaintiffs are challenging Hoskins’ decision to reject the referendum as unconstitutional even after organizers collected enough signatures to qualify it for a statewide vote.

The hearing did not seem to go well for Republicans based on some of the questioning: Missouri Supreme Court questions effort to keep redistricting referendum off ballot:

Judges of the Missouri Supreme Court on Wednesday repeatedly pressed attorneys defending Secretary of State Denny Hoskins to explain why voters should not see a referendum on congressional redistricting on the November ballot. [...]

The court must rule by Sept. 8 on whether the referendum, which would be Proposition A, will be on the ballot. The case over signatures is not as pressing because there is time to check additional signatures and there is no dispute that the referendum had enough signatures to qualify for the ballot without them. [...]

During arguments, the judges were told that Hoskins did not include the text of Hanaway’s opinion in his certification of insufficiency. That may be a flaw that is fatal.

“What authority do you have that the secretary can incorporate anything they want and staple it to their certification?” Judge Zel Fischer asked at one point. [...]

Chief Justice W. Brent Powell raised questions about whether the map used in the primary had to be the one used in the general election.

Hoskins ruled against the referendum petition on constitutional grounds and could have done that at any time, Powell noted. That could have resolved all the issues much earlier.

And, he said, in a case decided in May, “we have already said the new map would not go into effect if the referendum is sufficient,” Powell said.

The court only needs to read the plain language of the Constitution to know what to do, said Chuck Hatfield, attorney for People Not Politicians. The court should order Hoskins to put the referendum on the ballot, he said.

“If you put the consequences and the controversy aside,” Hatfield said, “this analysis is really very simple.”

Of course, they plan on defying the court's ruling if they lose:

We're going to find out how this goes next week. They didn't just mess with Cleaver's district. They also made it harder for Fred Wellman to possibly knock out Ann Wagner in the 2nd district, which was looking like a good possibility this election cycle until they included the boonies all around St. Louis county and St. Charles county in with the suburban areas. Wellman still might have a chance if Democrats would put some money into his race.

No matter what happens we can count on Republicans here to defy the law and the will of the voters. We vote on a referendum, they just openly defy it over and over again. They haven't been punished for it yet, so there's no reason to assume they'll stop.

UPDATED: The Supreme Court has thrown out the 7-1 map. More to follow soon:

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