Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins tells counties to use a barred congressional map
Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins emailed local election officials on September 8, 2026, telling them to use the 2025 congressional map the Missouri Supreme Court had permanently barred him from implementing, and that a federal court's order takes precedence over the state court's.
What happened
- Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins, the officer who certifies the state's ballots, emailed county election officials on September 8, 2026 and told them to use the 2025 congressional map.
- The Missouri Supreme Court had permanently enjoined Hoskins from using that map unless voters approve it in a referendum the court ordered onto the November 3 ballot.
- That same day, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh rejected Missouri officials' emergency request to stay the state ruling.
- That same day, Chief U.S. District Judge Stephen Clark issued a temporary restraining order barring Hoskins from using any map other than the 2025 version.
What the state says
- Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway, the state's top lawyer, said the state is "prepared to follow and comply with Chief Judge Clark's order."
Where it stands
- Late on September 8, 2026, Missouri Chief Justice W. Brent Powell ordered Hoskins to explain why his email instructing use of the 2025 map is not a violation of the court's injunction.
- The court gave Hoskins until noon the next day to answer a contempt motion from People Not Politicians, the committee that forced the referendum.
- The court set an in-person hearing on that motion for 10 a.m. Thursday.
Why it matters
Missouri's chief election officer told county clerks to use a congressional map the state's highest court had forbidden him to use, putting his own choice of which court to obey above that court's order. Clerks such as Boone County's Brianna Lennon are left with two orders they cannot both follow, and the map printed on Missourians' ballots depends on which one they pick.