SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
When President Trump called for redistricting around the country last year, Republicans in Missouri were among the first to respond. And late yesterday, the Republican plan for Missouri was rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court. It's likely the last big redistricting ruling. With early voting already underway in midterm elections, it could be a small boost for Democrats in their effort to retake control of Congress. Jason Rosenbaum of St. Louis Public Radio joins us now. Jason, thanks so much for being with us.
JASON ROSENBAUM, BYLINE: Thank you so much for having me.
SIMON: And Missouri Republicans had targeted one particular congressional seat currently held by a Democrat. Tell us about the district and what'll happen now.
ROSENBAUM: So Republicans targeted Democratic Congressman Emanuel Cleaver's Kansas City-based district. They split the heavily Democratic city into three largely rural districts, imperiling Cleaver's ability to win another term. The Supreme Court blocked that because citizens had gathered petitions to make the redistricting subject to voter approval. And that won't be decided until November 3, so the map can't be used in this election. Cleaver told me he was grateful that Missourians went through the referendum process.
EMANUEL CLEAVER: The joy, I think, now is generated by the fact that the people won this battle.
ROSENBAUM: And now Cleaver is the heavy favorite to win reelection in November.
SIMON: And, Jason, where does this leave redistricting nationally?
ROSENBAUM: Well, remember, Trump started this rare mid-decade redistricting race. Usually, it's done at the start of the decade. And with Texas and Florida and other states doing it, Republicans ended up with about nine more seats tilted their way across the country than Democrats. Without Missouri, it's down to eight seats. But of course, it'll still come down to how people actually vote in all those districts and hundreds more across the U.S. Republicans barely have a majority in the House. Every seat could be important.
SIMON: And as I understand it, some voters will now be in different districts for the November election than they were for the primaries. How did that happen?
ROSENBAUM: The Republican secretary of state, Denny Hoskins, instructed that the GOP map must be used in the primary. He knew there was a petition initiative giving voters a say over whether to use it, but he decided very late in the process that citizens' initiatives do not apply to redistricting. So that's the map that was used in the primary, but the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that was incorrect and said that map was never in effect.
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene on that decision twice in the last month, and that led election officials to plan on the old map used in 2022 and 2024 for the November elections. But Republicans challenged that in federal court, which ruled in their favor. And that's how it got to the U.S. Supreme Court, though very late in the process.
SIMON: And now the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled on this conflict between the other courts. So is the election in Missouri on track?
ROSENBAUM: Yes. The U.S. Supreme Court said it's too late to go back to the Republican-drawn map. They said it would cause electoral chaos and the state should stick with the map used in 2024, even though it's different from the primary map. Local officials like Brianna Lennon, county clerk in Boone County - and that's home to Columbia, Missouri - are relieved. She said they'd already sent out thousands of absentee ballots to voters.
BRIANNA LENNON: I did not realize until that opinion came down how much stress had been in my body that is now relieved. The fact that we can now confidently tell absentee voters that their vote will count - they can be confident that their vote will count and that the ballots are not going to change - is a huge relief.
ROSENBAUM: So election officials and Missouri voters have some finality going into November.
SIMON: Jason Rosenbaum with St. Louis Public Radio. Thanks so much.
ROSENBAUM: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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