People Not Politicians asks U.S. Supreme Court to deny congressional map appeal

By: Alison Patton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) -- A group battling a mid-decade attempt to redraw Missouri's congressional districts asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to deny the state attorney general's request to use the divisive map.

People Not Politicians is asking the United States Supreme Court to deny the Missouri Attorney General's attempt to use the 2025 congressional map for the November election.

Last week, the Missouri Supreme Court decided that the People Not Politicians' referendum challenging the gerrymandered 2025 congressional map was sufficient, and it will go on the November ballot as Proposition A. That decision also means the November election will be held under the 2022 map, likely saving Rep. Emanuel Cleaver's (D-Kansas City) seat that was targeted under the 2025 map.

Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway appealed that decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, asking the justices for a stay to temporarily block the decision from taking effect. The state argues the decision violates the U.S. Constitution and could cause widespread voter confusion.

In a court document filed Monday morning, a deadline set by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, People Not Politicians argues the motion is not an emergency; the state is actually asking for an injunction. The group also doubles down on the Missouri Supreme Court' argument's assertion that this dilemma could have been avoided months ago.

"This Court need not rescue the Secretary from a timing problem of his own making—much less by authorizing use of a map Missouri’s highest court has held has never been law," the court document says.

People Not Politicians argues the U.S. Supreme Court doesn't even have jurisdiction over this case because it deals with state law.

However, Hanaway argues the decision violates the Elections Clause, which gives states the power to conduct their own elections. In court documents, the state says SCOTUS has upheld that a referendum can be held on congressional maps, but the court has never allowed a fraction of voters to suspend a map.

The referendum was signed by 3.3% of the state's eligible voters, and they have suspended a statewide map that millions of voters already voted on in the August primary, the state's court document argues.

Whether the high court takes up this case will depend on whether justices believe it truly deals with federal law.

While SCOTUS considers main arguments, candidates for District 5--the district that is likely to be flipped from Democrat incumbent Rep. Emanuel Cleaver to Republican candidate and state Sen. Rick Brattin under the 2025 map--are holding out hope to win the race.

"The U.S. Supreme Court is going to see this and rectify it, so I don't think we'll have to get to a Plan B aspect of the campaign," Brattin said in response to whether he has a back-up campaign strategy for the 2022 map.

"I don't think anybody will need to remind the U.S. Supreme Court that this was a unanimous decision in Missouri about the Missouri Constitution," Cleaver said.

Four other groups have submitted additional documents, two in support of the state and two on the People Not Politicians side.

The state is backed by three Republican groups, including the Republican National Committee, all represented by attorney John Gore, who has argued alongside the state as an "intervenor" since the case was in the Cole County Circuit Court. The other group, American Center for Law and Justice, is a conservative organization that claims to defend religious and constitutional freedoms.

Arguments from the interested parties don't stray far from what the state argues, but the ACLJ specifically says it's too soon to the November election to change anything.

In court documents filed later in the day, Texas and Florida are among 18 other states to support the attorney general's ask. The states use legal precedent from a case to argue the Missouri Supreme Court's decision comes too close to the election to change the congressional map.

"Wittingly or not, the Missouri Supreme Court has steamrolled each and every one of these considerations. It issued a bare-bones injunction requiring the use of a different electoral map without addressing the inevitable chaos that will follow," the document reads.

People Not Politicians is backed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Campaign Legal Center. The groups submitted one document together. The other submission of support is from two Missouri voters, Jake Maggard and Gregg Lombardi.

The voters were plaintiffs in another lawsuit on redistricting in May that was crucial to the decision the Missouri Supreme Court recently issued. It's often called the Maggard case, and that decision set the timeline for Hoskins. It's cited in the Missouri Supreme Court decision, written by Judge Ginger Gooch.

The state has set Sept. 14 as the new deadline for a final answer, which is five days before overseas ballots are supposed to be sent out for the November election.

Rep. Bob Onder and state Sen. Rick Brattin, both Republicans running for congressional districts, along with two Missouri voters, have filed a lawsuit in a lower federal court. These plaintiffs are suing the Secretary of State Denny Hoskins to stop the implementation of the 2022 congressional map.

People Not Politicians intervened, or stepped in as an interested party with stakes, in that case. The group argues this will relitigate the Missouri Supreme Court decision, but the plaintiffs both say this will apply federal law to the case, something the state high court didn't consider.

Judge Stephen Clark asked all involved parties to submit arguments on why this case is different than what the Missouri Supreme Court just considered.

People Not Politicians has asked the court to dismiss the case.