Solicitor General D. John Sauer tells the Supreme Court that the order for the primary map "maintained the status quo ante"
Solicitor General of the United States, filing a brief for the United States as amicus curiae in No. 26A326
“Instead, it maintained the status quo ante by requiring Missouri to conduct its general election under the map that the State had used for the primary, and under which the voters, candidates, and political parties had long been operating. … This Court should deny the application for a stay.”
Source and context
Original text
About this source
Brief filed by the Solicitor General for the United States supporting the respondents, including Missouri and Secretary of State Denny Hoskins. It argues that the applicants lack appellate standing, are unlikely to succeed on appeal, and that the equities do not support a stay.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Original text
About this source
The Court's docket records the September 9 stay application, the responses and briefs filed September 9 and 10, including the brief of the United States, and the September 10 order granting the stay.
Reporting
About this source
Report on the Supreme Court's September 10 stay. It quotes Richard von Glahn's emailed statement, notes that the U.S. solicitor general joined Missouri and Secretary of State Denny Hoskins in opposing the stay, and describes the order as unsigned with no publicly noted dissent.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Original text
About this source
Unsigned per curiam order on an application that Circuit Justice Brett Kavanaugh referred to the full Court. It stays the Eighth Circuit's September 21 mandate and September 22 order and the district court's September 21 and 22 injunctions, keeps the Court's September 10 stay in place, and says the lower courts should not prohibit use of the 2022 map or require use of the 2025 map in the 2026 congressional election in Missouri. The text of the order shows no separate opinion or noted dissent.
Before the quotation
People Not Politicians and Richard von Glahn applied to the Court on September 9 to stay Chief Judge Stephen Clark's September 8 order requiring the 2025 map. Missouri and Secretary of State Denny Hoskins also opposed the stay, the Missouri Independent reported.
After the quotation
The Court granted the stay later on September 10 without a noted dissent.
How this statement is classified
Responding to: Because Missouri held its August primary under the 2025 map, the U.S. Constitution requires it to use that same map in the November general election, and using the 2022 map instead would violate Article I, Section 2 and equal protection.
The label describes this statement’s response within the context above.
Why this label?
The reference point is use of the 2025 map in the 2026 general election. The brief argues that requiring the primary map preserves the status quo and asks the Court to leave that requirement in place, which defends using the 2025 map. The closest competing label, “Challenged the characterization”, loses because the brief defends the outcome itself, beyond any description of it.
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Should Missouri be allowed to use its 2025 congressional map in the 2026 general election?
Explore the case context, sources and public responses.
More from this case
Read the full case“It is disappointing that today’s decision by the United States Supreme Court means Missouri will conduct its November general election under a different congressional map than its primary election. Voters deserved consistency and certainty, and not for the rules to be changed between elections. Nevertheless, Missouri will follow the Court’s order.”Read statement
Supreme Court of the United States
“In short, as a matter of state law, the 2022 map—not the 2025 map—must be used in the 2026 congressional election. … At this late date, ordering reversion to the 2025 map in the midst of an ongoing election would usher in electoral chaos. Purcell protects against such disorder. … And the District Court and Court of Appeals should not order or otherwise require Missouri to use the 2025 map in the 2026 congressional election in Missouri.”Read statement
Campaign Legal Center
“Pursuant to this Court’s orders and the Missouri Supreme Court’s ruling on state law, election administration has proceeded under the 2022 map, ballots have already been mailed, and voting has begun. … This Court must once again step in to restore order by granting the Applicants’ requested relief.”Read statement