⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

The Eighth Circuit hears consolidated emergency appeals, Nos. 26-2797 and 26-2827, over which congressional map Missouri will use in the November 2026 election. Missouri used a new map, enacted in 2025 as House Bill 1, for the August primary. People Not Politicians submitted more than 300,000 signatures to put the map to a referendum. The Missouri Supreme Court ruled that the petition kept House Bill 1 from taking effect, so the state's 2022 map controls unless voters approve the new one. Congressman Bob Onder and other candidates and voters then sued in federal court. A district judge issued a fourteen-day temporary restraining order, or TRO, requiring Missouri to keep using the primary map; a TRO is an emergency order entered before a full merits decision. He reasoned that switching districts before the general election could disenfranchise voters and throw the election into confusion. The U.S. Supreme Court stayed that order while these appeals proceed. Now the Eighth Circuit must decide who has standing to appeal, whether the TRO is reviewable or moot, and whether changing maps after the primary violates Article I or equal protection.

Congressman Robert Onder v. Richard von Glahn (No. 26-2797) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, argued September 17, 2026.