Missouri's fight over its congressional map is back at the Supreme Court. A Democratic-aligned organizer who pushed to force a statewide vote on the GOP-drawn map is asking the justices to stop Republicans from using it, arguing that a lower court order "runs counter to decades" of Supreme Court precedent, the Hill reports. The emergency request goes to Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who oversees such matters from Missouri and has asked state officials to respond by Thursday morning.
The clash stems from dueling rulings. Last week, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the new, GOP-friendly map can't be used in the midterm elections. On Tuesday, Kavanaugh declined to reinstate the map and said the Missouri referendum could proceed. Minutes later, however, federal District Judge Stephen Clark of Missouri issued a contradictory ruling, temporarily blocking the state from any map but the new one, which was redrawn to give Republicans an extra House seat, the AP reports.
An 8th Circuit panel, made up of three Republican-appointed judges, declined to immediately intervene, citing jurisdiction concerns and the short, two-week lifespan of Clark's order. He is expected to make a longer-lasting ruling soon, the Hill reports. The August primaries were held under the new map's districts and courts have not suggested redoing the primaries. Law professor Travis Crum at Washington University in St. Louis tells the AP that there's no clear-cut precedent for the Supreme Court to follow. "Here in Missouri, we've witnessed a series of unprecedented actions, one after another," he says.
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