The legal fight over Missouri's congressional districts is going down to the wire.
A federal appeals court just ordered the state to use the 2025 map for November, ruling that going back to the older 2022 boundaries violates the U.S. Constitution.
Judges said shifting 1.4 million voters mid-election-cycle strips them of their right to choose their representatives.
But the court is delaying its own order until next Monday, September 28th. That temporary pause guarantees the U.S. Supreme Court has time to step in before the state is forced to re-print ballots with the 2025 lines.
Because the Eighth Circuit stayed its ruling until September 28th, St. Louis County is opening absentee voting Tuesday, using the 2022 map previously mandated by the U.S. Supreme Court.
"It's going to create a lot of confusion there's just no question about it," County Elections Director Rick Stream tells KMOX.
Stream says they're following the advice of legal counsel to proceed.
Military and overseas ballots already went out Friday to meet federal deadlines, and state law requires the doors to open Tuesday for general absentee voters. If you are caught in the shifting boundary lines, Stream has some specific advice, "It's only for about 8-9%, it's under than 10% total active registered voters in St. Louis County that are affected by the line changes, but the people who are affected by it, and they don't have to come in and vote early, I would advise to wait. Just to make sure that they get the ballot that's going to be the one that counts."
Stream says if you vote now, and the courts switch the state back to the 2025 map before November, your vote for Congress will be voided, though the rest of the races on your ballot will still count.
Absentee voting opens Tuesday
Absentee voting opens Tuesday
