The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that Missouri must use its 2022 congressional district map for the November 2026 election, meaning Warren County voters will be split between the Second and Third districts.
The decision came Friday, Sept. 25, settling, at least for this election cycle, a controversy over whether the 2022 map, or instead a 2025 favored by President Donald Trump, would be used.
The Supreme Court decision means less last-minute work for the Warren County Clerk’s Office, which was already proceeding with plans to use the 2022 map, according to County Clerk Denise Stotler.
In the August primary election, Missouri was using the 2025 map, Stotler said. On Sept. 3, however, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that the 2025 map could not be used.
On Sept. 10, Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins directed local election officials to use the 2022 congressional map. Then on Sept. 21, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit ruled that Missouri needed to use the 2025 map in the November election.
The Court of Appeals ruling was immediately stayed until Monday, Sept. 28, the Warren County Clerk’s Office noted in a message posted to its website Sept. 22, but the court ended up deciding the case Friday.
Using the 2022 map, much of the county, essentially everything south of Interstate 70, is included in the Second Congressional District, Stotler noted. Candidates in that race are incumbent Republican Ann Wagner, Democrat Fred Wellmann, and Libertarian Brandon Daugherty.
The Third Congressional District race, which will be on the ballot for Warren County voters north of I-70, is between incumbent Republican Rep. Bob Onder, Democrat Bethany Mann, and Libertarian Jim Higgins.
“Most of our voters are south of 70,” Stotler said last week, adding that ballots were already printed for both the Second and Third districts. If the Supreme Court had ruled that Missouri had to use the 2025 map, “I would have to reorder all kinds of ballots,” Stotler said.
While Stotler was advising last week that absentee voters should wait to cast their ballots, as a court decision changing their congressional district could invalidate their vote, the clerk’s office is now advising that voters can cast their ballots assured that their congressional votes will count.
“We want Warren County voters to be fully informed about the current situation before casting their ballot,” the clerk’s office said in its message posted last week.
“We appreciate your patience and understanding as we navigate these unusual circumstances.”
