Rep. Jason Smith applauds the Eighth Circuit and says changing the map in mid-cycle "disenfranchises voters"
Jason SmithU.S. Representative for Missouri's 8th District, posting on his @JasonSmithMO account
Smith applauded the Eighth Circuit for reinstating the 2025 map, which he calls the Missouri First Map. He said changing the map in the middle of the election cycle "disenfranchises voters" and would send Missouri into a constitutional crisis, and he called any reversion "a blatant move by rogue liberal judges to subvert the will of the voters".
“I applaud the Eighth Circuit for reinstating the 2025 Missouri First Map. I’ve said it many times before, and I’ll say it again: changing the map in the middle of the election cycle disenfranchises voters and would send Missouri into a constitutional crisis. The voters voted for the 2025 map, and have already voted in primaries under it. Any reversion is a blatant move by rogue liberal judges to subvert the will of the voters.”
Original post
Original text
Original text
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Should Missouri be allowed to use its 2025 congressional map in the 2026 general election?
Missouri lawmakers passed a new congressional map, House Bill 1, in September 2025, and the State used it in the August 4, 2026 primary. On September 3, 2026, the Supreme Court of Missouri ruled unanimously that a referendum petition kept the map from taking effect and that the 2022 map remains in force for the November general election. Gov. Mike Kehoe, Attorney General Catherine Hanaway, Secretary of State Denny Hoskins and President Donald Trump said in early September that the primary map should be used in November, and the Eighth Circuit held on September 21 that using the 2022 map violates the U.S. Constitution. People Not Politicians, the Campaign Legal Center and the ACLU argued that Missouri law makes the 2022 map the only valid map and that ballots had been mailed under it. On September 25, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court, in an unsigned per curiam order that records no dissent, stayed the federal injunctions, said that under state law the 2022 map must be used, and said lower courts should not require use of the 2025 map in the 2026 election. Kehoe called that decision disappointing and said Missouri will follow the order.
Source and context
Original post
About this source
Post from the @JasonSmithMO account, which links to electjasonsmith.com and describes its owner as a Missouri congressman, quoting a post by SCOTUSwire about the Eighth Circuit's ruling.
Original text
About this source
Published per curiam opinion affirming Chief Judge Stephen Clark's temporary restraining order and directing entry of a permanent injunction requiring the 2025 map, with the injunction administratively stayed until September 28, 2026 at 5 p.m. Central time. Judge Stras concurred in part and dissented in part, writing that he would dismiss the appeal because People Not Politicians and Richard von Glahn lack standing.
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.
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)Before the quotation
On September 21, the Eighth Circuit held that using the 2022 map in the November general election violates the Constitution and directed entry of a permanent injunction requiring the 2025 map. The Missouri Independent reported that the court put the decision on hold.
After the quotation
On September 25, the U.S. Supreme Court stayed the Eighth Circuit's mandate and the district court's injunctions and said lower courts should not require use of the 2025 map in the 2026 election.
How this statement is classified
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. Smith welcomes the ruling that requires the 2025 map and says any reversion to the 2022 map would subvert the voters, which defends that use. The closest competing label, condemns, does not fit because his criticism is aimed at judges who would order a change and not at the use of the 2025 map.
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The Dispute Index. "Rep. Jason Smith applauds the Eighth Circuit and says changing the map in mid-cycle "disenfranchises voters"". First published: 2026-09-26. Last updated: 2026-09-26. https://disputeindex.com/events/2720-smith-applauded-the-eighth-circuit-for-reinstating-the