# Missouri Supreme Court Throws Out Trump-Led Redistricting
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missouri-supreme-court-throws-out-trump-led-redistricting/1032811
**Category:** Politics & Elections
**Tags:** trump
**Created:** [September 4, 2026, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missouri-supreme-court-throws-out-trump-led-redistricting/1032811 "2026-09-04T02:36:47Z")
**Posts on this page:** 10
**Page:** 3
### Author:  [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)
#### Post date: [September 10, 2026, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missouri-supreme-court-throws-out-trump-led-redistricting/1032811/41 "2026-09-10T23:18:28Z")
The Missouri Supreme Court’s decision in March caused all this trouble by ruling that “when” means “any time after” in this provision of the state constitution: “When the number of representatives … each census … is certified to the governor, the general assembly shall by law divide the state into districts corresponding with the number of representatives …” See _Luther v. Hoskins_, No. SC101412 (Mar. 24, 2026). I agree with the dissent and think the _Luther_ decision guts that provision of the state constitution.
Also, contrary to the OP, only five of the seven judges on the Missouri Supreme Court were appointed by Republicans. Also, Missouri’s process for appointing judges is a little bit weird: the state bar association (lawyers’ guild) and the Chief Justice can out-vote the Governor.
The Missouri Supreme Court appears to have taken the position that the legislature may gerrymander the map mid-decade (I say despite a constitutional provision expressly designed to prevent that), but if the citizens get enough petitions to put the new map on the ballot, the redistricting must wait for the ballot measure to pass.
N.b.: Missouri Supreme Court judges do not serve for life, but are subject to statewide retention elections every twelve years and mandatory retirement at 80. Only the Chief Justice is called “Justice” and that title rotates every two years.
~Max
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### Author:  [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)
#### Post date: [September 10, 2026, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missouri-supreme-court-throws-out-trump-led-redistricting/1032811/42 "2026-09-10T23:55:52Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#):
>
> Really?
> Like who?
You have been on this board for a while.
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### Author:  [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2026, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missouri-supreme-court-throws-out-trump-led-redistricting/1032811/43 "2026-09-11T00:32:50Z")
i accept and thank you for your correction that only five of the secent SCOMO justices were appointed by Republicans. And while I agree that the appoinmtent process is weird, the judicial appointment commisssion is comprised of the Chief Justice three members of the bar association, and three members appointed by the Governor, with one appointment by each from each of the three judicial circuits in the state. It’s unlikely any four of those seven members will get together to out-vote the Governor.
The case in front of the Court was not whether the Legislature could redistrict mid-term, but whether the voters could use the referendum process to overturn redistricting. It might have been better if there had been an initiative movement to overturn HB1, but I’ll take a win wherever I can get it.
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### Author:  [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2026, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missouri-supreme-court-throws-out-trump-led-redistricting/1032811/44 "2026-09-11T00:33:29Z")
You made the claim, so you back it up. I have indeed been on this board long enough to know how the game is played.
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### Author:  [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2026, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missouri-supreme-court-throws-out-trump-led-redistricting/1032811/45 "2026-09-11T00:35:55Z")
You also know that is against the rules, bringing an argument from another thread. You can read- hint- it is one of out biggest Gaza supporters.
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### Author:  [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2026, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missouri-supreme-court-throws-out-trump-led-redistricting/1032811/47 "2026-09-11T01:30:31Z")
**Moderating:**
@DrDeth, @Czarcasm please stop sniping at each other, especially when it’s about a poster NOT in this thread. Don’t bring off-topic materials and fights into unrelated threads. You both know where the Pit is.
@DrDeth your most recent post shows you know better, next time _do_ better. Take it to the Pit, or another thread where it’s appropriate, and don’t dance around it while claiming the rules prevent you - way to close to Jr. Modding as well.
To all, don’t respond to either poster’s digression.
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### Author:  [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2026, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missouri-supreme-court-throws-out-trump-led-redistricting/1032811/49 "2026-09-11T02:50:11Z")
> [@Max\_S](#):
>
> The Missouri Supreme Court appears to have taken the position that the legislature may gerrymander the map mid-decade (I say despite a constitutional provision expressly designed to prevent that), but if the citizens get enough petitions to put the new map on the ballot, the redistricting must wait for the ballot measure to pass.
As I understand it, it’s more that the MO Constitution allows “any act of the general assembly” to be put on the ballot if enough signatures are gathered, and said act is not considered law until the result of that referendum is known.
The MO SoS argued that a redistricting plan was somehow not “any act of the general assembly” and therefore the referendum petition language didn’t apply. He also made that ruling one hour before the statutory deadline to put that referendum on the ballot.
The MO SC was not having that, and was not amused by the attempt to delay the decision until it was too late to adjudicate the issue prior to the primary election.
I also agree that the court wrongly ruled in March, but I can at least understand how that decision was reached. The provision regarding redistricting doesn’t explicitly say “only once”, it just says “when”. But I think the dissent makes a strong argument that the only reason the language was added was to limit the time and place of the redistricting to one time immediately after the census. Otherwise why add the language in the first place?
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### Author:  [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)
#### Post date: [September 21, 2026, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missouri-supreme-court-throws-out-trump-led-redistricting/1032811/50 "2026-09-21T22:26:53Z")
[Now the U.S. 8th Circuit Court has ruled that Missouri must use the Trump map](https://apnews.com/article/redistricting-congress-trump-missouri-gerrymandering-0481d2b8ac0fb5369513bf050dd5b5e2), because that was the map that was used in the August primary election. However, the Court delayed the order for a week to allow an appeal to SCOTUS.
Meanwhile, county election boards have already begun mailing out overseas absentee ballots using the old voting boundaries, and are supposed to make absentee ballots available to all voters tomorrow.
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### Author:  [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)
#### Post date: [September 25, 2026, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missouri-supreme-court-throws-out-trump-led-redistricting/1032811/51 "2026-09-25T23:10:44Z")
SCOTUS says use the old maps:
> **[For the third time, Supreme Court declines to allow Missouri to use...](https://www.scotusblog.com/2026/09/for-the-third-time-supreme-court-declines-to-allow-missouri-to-use-congressional-map-expected-to/)**
Brian
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### Author:  [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2026, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missouri-supreme-court-throws-out-trump-led-redistricting/1032811/52 "2026-09-26T00:29:48Z")
> [@N9IWP](#):
>
> SCOTUS says use the old maps:
Read the decision. The Missouri Secretary of State and Attorney General better hope they don’t have to argue a case in front of SCOTUS for awhile.
> (I)n an opinion back in May 2026, well
> before the primary election, the Missouri Supreme Court
> stated that the 2025 map would not take effect until
> approved by the voters in an intervening referendum, at
> least if the referendum petition was legally sufficient. . .
> So in the several-month period
> before the August primary election, the Missouri Secretary
> of State was well aware that conducting the August
> primary election with the 2025 map carried significant
> risks. The Secretary nonetheless chose to proceed with the
> 2025 map for the primary.
The justices aren’t too happy with the U,.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, either.
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