By DAVID A. LIEB<\/p>\n
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) \u2014 A federal appeals court panel on Thursday was considering an attempt to resurrect new Missouri congressional districts backed by President Donald Trump, even though the U.S. Supreme Court\u00a0blocked those districts<\/a>\u00a0from being used in the November election.<\/p>\n A three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments in the long-running dispute over whether the state should use the\u00a0new Republican-drawn U.S. House districts,<\/a>\u00a0just as the state did in its August primary. But it wasn\u2019t immediately clear what the impact would be, even if the panel rules in favor of the new map. That\u2019s because the U.S. Supreme Court previously blocked the enforcement of a lower court order favoring the map pending a potential appeal and eventual decision by the high court.<\/p>\n Missouri currently is set to run its November election with the same congressional districts it used in 2024 and 2022, following prior\u00a0decisions by both the Missouri Supreme Court<\/a>\u00a0and U.S. Supreme Court.<\/p>\n Local elections officials said in a court filing that they already are printing ballots with those districts and face a Friday deadline under federal law to mail absentee ballots to overseas citizens and military voters. State law requires absentee ballots to be available to all other voters by next Tuesday.<\/p>\n To try to change districts at this late date would be \u201cpractically impossible\u201d and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to the filing by the Missouri Association of County Clerks and Election Authorities.<\/p>\n Republicans press for a map switch<\/p>\n An attorney representing Republican U.S. Rep. Bob Onder and state Sen. Rick Brattin \u2014 the GOP nominee in one of the congressional districts \u2014 suggested to appeals court judges that there still is time to revert to the Trump-backed map.<\/p>\n The appeals court judges indicated they would rule quickly, noting any decision they make is likely to be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got to decide, and then they\u2019ve got to decide, and then the poor election officials have to deal with where everything is,\u201d said Judge James Loken, an appointee of former President George H.W. Bush.<\/p>\n Loken pointedly questioned the attorney for the group People Not Politicians, which gathered petition signatures forcing the new Trump-backed map to a statewide vote. As attorney Chuck Hatfield argued it was too late for the appeals panel to try to make changes to the election, an exasperated Loken eventually cut him off, declaring: \u201cYou\u2019re out of time, dang it!\u201d<\/p>\n The two other panelists \u2014 judges David Stras and Justin Smith \u2014 are both Trump appointees. Prior to his June appointment, Smith was an attorney who represented Trump as he unsuccessfully appealed a $5 million jury verdict in a\u00a0lawsuit filed by the writer E. Jean Carroll<\/a>\u00a0to the U.S. Supreme Court.<\/p>\n Missouri redistricting battle took many twists<\/p>\n Missouri\u2019s redistricting battle has been the longest, most\u00a0complex and confusing<\/a>\u00a0among roughly a dozen states that sought to change their U.S. House districts over the past year. Trump spurred the unusual spate of mid-decade redistricting when he urged Republican-led states to redraw districts to gain an edge in the midterm elections that will determine control of Congress and affect his agenda.<\/p>\n Missouri lawmakers passed a new congressional map last September that significantly reshaped a Kansas City-based district held by Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver. Republicans hoped the map could help them win seven of the state\u2019s eight House seats \u2014 one more than they currently hold.<\/p>\n But opponents submitted\u00a0thousands of petition signatures<\/a>\u00a0in December seeking to force a statewide vote on the new districts. Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins waited until August \u2014 on the same day that the primary was held under the new districts \u2014\u00a0to reject the petition<\/a>. He asserted that referendum petitions aren\u2019t allowed for congressional redistricting.<\/p>\n The Missouri Supreme Court reversed Hoskins\u2019 finding in September, barring the new map from being used until voters can decide whether to uphold or reject it in a November referendum. The court said the state must instead use the districts approved in 2022.<\/p>\n But that wasn\u2019t the end of the matter. A federal judge in St. Louis later issued a conflicting order barring the use of anything other than the new Trump-backed map. That judge said it could violate federal rights to switch districts between the primary and general elections. The U.S. Supreme Court halted that judge\u2019s order last week, but the 8th Circuit appellate court proceeded to hear arguments on the issue Thursday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By DAVID A. LIEB JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. 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