Missouri Supreme Court upholds legislature's redistricting authority, keeps voter ID law
The Missouri Supreme Court handed down three rulings Tuesday that could shape the 2026 election, saying lawmakers had the authority to pass a new congressional map last year, leaving intact the state’s photo-ID requirement for voters and striking down limits on voter-registration and absentee-ballot outreach.
The decisions gave Missouri Republicans a major win in the fight over congressional redistricting and preserved one of the state’s most contested voting laws, even as the court drew a constitutional line around how far Missouri can go in restricting civic groups trying to get people registered and to the polls.
On redistricting, in a 4-3 ruling, the court rejected arguments that the Missouri Constitution allows lawmakers to redraw congressional lines only once a decade, after a new census. Instead, the majority said the constitution requires the legislature to act after each census but does not expressly bar it from returning later to pass another map.
Missouri Republicans pushed through the new congressional plan last year after pressure from President Donald Trump and allies eager to make Missouri’s Kansas City-area district more winnable for the GOP.
https://missouriindependent.com/2026/03/24/missouri-supreme-court-upholds-legislatures-redistricting-authority-keeps-voter-id-law/
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