Missouri, Maryland Top Courts Send Redistricting to Voters

The supreme courts of Maryland and Missouri decided Thursday that voters in their states will decide whether new congressional maps will take effect, placing them on the November ballot. The cases spring from Republicans' efforts, at President Trump's urging, to redraw House districts to give their party an advantage in this fall's House races. Both rulings are victories for Democrats. The developments:

• In Missouri: In a unanimous decision, the state Supreme Court has blocked Republicans' redrawing from being used in the November election and ordered a statewide vote on whether to uphold or reject the new map, the AP reports. Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway, a Republican, said she would immediately appeal the decision to the US Supreme Court, asserting that the decision "has thrust our state into a full-fledged constitutional crisis." The new districts were used in the August primaries, but the state judges said they cannot be used in the November general election—or ever again, unless voters first approve the new districts passed by the Republican-led legislature. Secretary of State Denny Hoskins, a Republican, had blocked the referendum from a November vote, and the ruling said he was wrong. President Trump immediately ripped the decision in a post as unconstitutional.

• In Maryland: The redistricting amendment going to the state ballot is being pushed by Democrats. The Supreme Court reversed two lower court rulings that had blocked it from going to voters, but the ruling directs that the ballot summary be rewritten. Democrats already hold seven of Maryland's eight US House seats. The proposed amendment would not change voting districts for this year's midterms, but it would free Democratic lawmakers to draw new congressional districts that give the party a shot at a clean sweep in the 2028 elections, per the AP. "Winning in court was only the first step," said Ned Miller of Fight Back MD, which supports the ballot measure. "We are building the statewide campaign to educate voters, organize supporters and build the coalition necessary to stand up to Donald Trump and pass Question 3 in November."