Supreme Court won’t let Missouri use GOP-favored congressional map

WASHINGTON – Missouri can’t use a congressional map drawn to give Republicans an additional seat in the upcoming November elections, the Supreme Court said Sept. 8 in a blow to GOP efforts to keep their razor-thin majority in the U.S. House.

The disputed map would have turned a seat held by Democrats into one that Republicans were expected to win.

The Missouri Supreme Court had said that the map must be approved by voters in a November referendum before it can take effect.

Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who handles emergency appeals from Missouri, rejected a request from state officials and the Republican Party for the high court to intervene.

The emergency appeal was the latest redistricting battle to reach the Supreme Court after President Donald Trump pushed red states to rejigger maps to improve Republicans’ chances of keeping control of Congress.

The map approved by the state legislature last year breaks up a Democratic-held district in Kansas City, giving Republicans an advantage in seven of the state's eight House districts.

A group formed to oppose the new map, People Not Politicians Missouri, collected enough signatures to put the changes to a public vote through a ballot measure.

But Missouri’s…

Original source: https://www.usatoday.com/travel/