Democrats Demand Judge Reverse His Own Ruling on Missouri Redistricting, Citing Kavanaugh’s Decision To Side With Them

A group seeking to block Missouri Republicans’ new gerrymandered congressional map are relying on an unlikely bedfellow — Justice Brett Kavanaugh. The conservative justice, often vilified by Democrats, handed them a win on Tuesday after refusing to reinstate Republicans’ congressional map meant to hand the GOP one more seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, a decision they are now using to try to force a federal judge to reverse his own decision in a separate case. Last year, the Republican-dominated Missouri legislature redrew their state’s district lines to break up the deep-blue district which covers Kansas City. It was part of a broader campaign by the White House to try to pick up additional seats in the House by persuading Republican-led states to redraw their existing congressional maps.The Missouri supreme court struck down that map, however, saying that the laws and the constitution of the state of Missouri had been violated. Republicans sought relief from Justice Kavanaugh, though he declined to do so in an order on Tuesday. “Because the referendum petition was legal, sufficient, and timely, [the new map] never took effect and was referred to the voters,” the state supreme court said in its decision earlier this month. “The congressional districts the General Assembly established in 2022 remain in full force and effect for the November 2026 general election, and [the new map] will not take effect unless and until approved by the voters at the November 2026 general election.”Justice Kavanaugh then declined to block the state supreme court decision in a brief order on Tuesday night. He did not offer any explanation for his reasoning. Minutes after the justice handed down his order, however, Judge Stephen Clark of the eastern district of Missouri handed down his own decision in a separate case brought by a Republican lawmaker, Congressman Bob Odner. Dr. Odner asked Judge Clark to enforce the use of the new congressional map, known as HB 1, for this year’s midterm elections. After the state supreme court ruled against the use of the map, Dr. Odner and his attorneys made a motion to Judge Clark arguing that the forced use of the old map violated Article I of the Constitution, the Elections Clause, and the Equal Protection Clause. Judge Clark found in their favor, writing that because the primary elections had already taken place, it would be a violation of the Constitution to revert to the old map ahead of the general election. “Using a map other than HB 1’s would disenfranchise primary-election voters and undermine the nominations of candidates chosen in the primaries, leading to ‘certain’ and ‘great’ harm,” Judge Clark wrote. “The primary ballots cannot simply be recounted under the 2022 districts, as the district boundaries and candidates would not be the same for all voters. And the harm could not be more imminent: under state law, the deadline for finalizing the ballot is today, September 8.”After Justice Kavanaugh declined to block the use of the new gerrymandered map, Democrats went back to Judge Clark to demand he block his own decision, at least temporarily. They pointed to Justice Kavanaugh’s order and the standing decision from the Missouri supreme court, arguing that Judge Clark could supersede neither the state’s highest court, nor the nation’s highest court. Late Wednesday, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals declined to block Judge Clark’s ruling, saying in a brief opinion that the court either lacks jurisdiction over the matter or that the groups seeking to block the maps have not met the standards that necessitate granting an emergency stay of Judge Clark’s decision.The dueling decisions from Judge Clark and Justice Kavanaugh will have to reach a resolution within the next ten days — September 19 — when Missouri begins sending out mail ballots for this year’s midterm elections.

Democrats Demand Judge Reverse His Own Ruling on Missouri Redistricting, Citing Kavanaugh’s Decision To Side With Them

Democrats Demand Judge Reverse His Own Ruling on Missouri Redistricting, Citing Kavanaugh’s Decision To Side With Them

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