Supreme Court rejects GOP’s third effort to capture Democratic House seat in Missouri

Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images/File

The third time was not the charm.

The Supreme Court on Friday rejected an effort to use a congressional map in Missouri for the November midterm elections that would have given Republicans an opportunity to pick up an extra House of Representatives seat, siding with opponents of the proposed districts for the third time in as many weeks.

The court’s unsigned decision, the second of the day to deal with the midterms, seemed likely to put to rest a whirlwind legal saga that has bounced through state and federal courts for much of September. The order was a loss for Republicans and President Donald Trump, who had urged Missouri to redraw its congressional maps last year as part of unusual mid-decade redistricting designed to retain GOP control of the House next year.

There were no noted dissents.

“Ballots using the 2022 map have been printed and mailed. Absentee voting has already begun, as has military and overseas voting,” the court wrote. “At this late date, ordering reversion to the 2025 map midst of an ongoing election would usher in electoral chaos.”

While the case affected only a single seat, it raised questions about the interplay between state and federal courts heading into this year’s pivotal midterms, and once again underscored a tension between lower courts and often unexplained Supreme Court orders on the emergency docket.

This story is breaking and will be updated.

Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images/文件

事不过三。

最高法院周五驳回了密苏里州一项在 11 月中期选举中使用国会选区划分图的请求，该选区划分图本可让共和党人有机会在众议院多赢得一个席位。这是最高法院在短短几周内第三次站在反对该选区划分方案的一方。

法院当天就中期选举问题作出的第二项未署名裁决，似乎有望终结这场持续整个九月在州法院和联邦法院之间辗转的漫长法律诉讼。这项裁决对共和党人和唐纳德·特朗普总统来说是一次挫败。特朗普曾敦促密苏里州去年重新划分国会选区，作为一项不同寻常的中期选区重划计划的一部分，旨在确保共和党明年继续掌控众议院。

没有出现任何异议。

法院写道：“采用2022年选区划分方案的选票已经印制并寄出。缺席投票、军人投票和海外投票也已经开始。在选举进行到这个阶段，下令恢复使用2025年选区划分方案，将会造成选举混乱。”

虽然此案只影响到一个席位，但它引发了人们对今年关键的中期选举前州法院和联邦法院之间相互作用的疑问，并再次凸显了下级法院与最高法院在紧急案件中经常不加解释的命令之间的紧张关系。

这是突发新闻，我们将持续更新。