Richard von Glahn says "Ballots have been printed, and Missourians have already voted" after the Eighth Circuit ruling
Executive director of People Not Politicians, the group that circulated the referendum petition and intervened in the federal case
“Ballots have been printed, and Missourians have already voted … Thousands more will vote before this order seeks to take effect. Officials should stop wasting taxpayers’ money on pointless legal action and instead focus on administering our elections.”
Source and context
Reporting
About this source
Report on the Eighth Circuit's September 21 ruling, with statements from Sen. Rick Brattin and Richard von Glahn.
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
The Eighth Circuit ruled on September 21, 2026 that Missouri must use the 2025 map in November and stayed its order until September 28. People Not Politicians attorney Chuck Hatfield said the group planned to appeal, the Missouri Independent reported.
After the quotation
On September 25, the U.S. Supreme Court stayed the Eighth Circuit's mandate and the district court's injunctions that required the 2025 map.
How this statement is classified
Responding to: Ordering Missouri to return to the 2025 map after ballots have been printed and mailed and voting has begun would create the electoral disorder that the Purcell principle exists to prevent.
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. Von Glahn says ballots have been printed and voting has begun, calls the legal effort to change the map "pointless" and says he expects the 2022 map to be used, which opposes using the 2025 map. The closest competing label, “Challenged the characterization”, loses because he opposes the outcome rather than disputing a description.
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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