Missouri Supreme Court Rejects Hoskins’ Challenge to 2022 Congressional Map

The Missouri Supreme Court issued an opinion that the state’s 2022 congressional redistricting map is the only map valid under the Missouri Constitution. The court rejected arguments presented by former state official Hos Hoskins, who contended that voters who cast ballots in the August primary should retain those district assignments for the upcoming general election.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Hoskins argued that the court’s handling of the ballot-certification process created confusion and potentially disenfranchised voters. In an interview on conservative radio station KFTK, he asserted that voters who voted in one district during the primary and were reassigned to a different district for the general election could claim disenfranchisement and seek legal remedy.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

The court, whose composition includes five justices appointed by Republican governors, emphasized that the state’s congressional districts were never in effect under the contested plan. It noted that any “confusion, expense, or practical difficulties” caused by the secretary’s delay do not alter the constitutional requirement that the 2022 map governs the election.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

The ruling leaves the 2022 congressional boundaries unchanged for the upcoming general election, meaning voters will vote according to the established map regardless of primary-district assignments. Hoskins indicated an intention to appeal the decision at the federal level, suggesting that further legal challenges may arise, though the state’s highest court has affirmed the current map’s validity.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

• “You, as someone that voted in the primary election in August and voted in one district, and now being changed back to a different district for the general election ... you could argue that yes, you got disenfranchised,” — Hoskins — Hoskins

St. Louis Post-Dispatch