Attorney General Catherine Hanaway's office tells the Supreme Court that voting under the 2025 map "better advances the public interest"
Catherine HanawayAttorney General of Missouri, whose office filed the brief for the State of Missouri and Secretary of State Denny Hoskins in No. 26A388
In a brief opposing the stay application, the Missouri Attorney General's office said Missouri would not be able to run an orderly general election whichever way the Court ruled. It wrote that "the State believes that voting under the 2025 map better advances the public interest", and that the Secretary of State believes denying a stay is the best way to promote stability. The brief acknowledged that the Court's earlier stay order was "a preliminary indication that it views this situation differently".
“Regardless of whether this Court grants a stay or leaves the Eighth Circuit’s injunction in place, Missouri and its Secretary of State (collectively, “the State”) will do whatever they can to help local election officials comply. Yet the honest truth is that—regardless of what this Court does—Missouri will not be able to run an orderly 2026 General Election. … Although no option is ideal, the State believes that voting under the 2025 map better advances the public interest. … The State acknowledges this Court’s prior stay order represented a preliminary indication that it views this situation differently … More than anything, Missouri voters need stability. The Secretary respectfully believes that denying a stay—and declining to change Missouri’s congressional map for a fifth time—is the best way to promote stability.”
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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.
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Original text
About this source
Brief filed by the Missouri Attorney General's Office for the State of Missouri and Secretary of State Denny Hoskins. It asks the Court to deny the stay, says the State believes voting under the 2025 map better advances the public interest, and says Missouri will not be able to run an orderly general election whichever way the Court rules.
Original text
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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
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Application by People Not Politicians and Richard von Glahn asking the Court to clarify that its September 10 stay covers the Eighth Circuit's permanent injunction or, alternatively, to stay the Eighth Circuit's September 21 ruling.
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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
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. On September 22, People Not Politicians asked the U.S. Supreme Court to clarify or stay that ruling.
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. The brief says the State believes voting under the 2025 map better advances the public interest and asks the Court to deny the stay, which defends that use. The closest competing label, “Mixed or conditional”, loses because the brief's acknowledgments concern the Court's likely view and Missouri's ability to administer the election, and the brief still states the State's preference for the 2025 map.
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The National Democratic Redistricting Committee says the Supreme Court "denied Missouri Republicans' third attempt to jam through their 2025 gerrymander"
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“BREAKING: SCOTUS just denied Missouri Republicans' third attempt to jam through their 2025 gerrymander! 👏 This reaffirms what the state's highest court already said weeks ago — the 2025 map was never the law. Missouri Republicans tried to silence voters. Today, they lost.”Read statement
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“For more than a year, state officials have spent precious time, energy, and resources on an effort to silence the voices of Missouri voters and steal a congressional seat. Tonight, after more than 305,000 Missourians demanded a say, the Supreme Court has put this shameful and unlawful scheme to rest. Power to the people.”Read statement
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The Dispute Index. "Attorney General Catherine Hanaway's office tells the Supreme Court that voting under the 2025 map "better advances the public interest"". First published: 2026-09-26. Last updated: 2026-09-26. https://disputeindex.com/events/2724-in-a-brief-opposing-the-stay-application-the