Mo. Secretary of State Hoskins: Election officials should use 2022 map in November

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — UPDATE, 3:15 p.m. | In the hearing, the court determined Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins was in contempt until he ordered election officials to use the 2022 congressional map. Once he sent that email, he was out of contempt.

The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals also ordered both sides to submit briefs by Sept. 15 and prepare oral arguments by Sept. 17.

"While the reasoning behind today’s Missouri Supreme Court contempt hearings remain questionable, I am proud to stand behind Secretary Hoskins as he continues to serve as Missouri’s top elections authority," Gov. Mike Kehoe said on social media after the hearing. "I look forward to the Eighth Circuit’s consideration of the merits of the Missouri First Map and remain confident in the legal process moving forward. Voters deserve certainty and clarity."

UPDATE, 2 p.m. | Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins is appearing before the state's Supreme Court as part of a contempt hearing.

LINK | Watch today's hearing starting at 2 p.m.

UPDATE, 1:15 p.m. | Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway soon followed suit and issued a statement in support of the 2022 map.

"We affirm the Secretary of State Denny Hoskins’s position and decision to advise local election authorities that the 2022 map is in effect. We respect and will continue to comply with all court decisions, including orders issued by the Supreme Court of Missouri," Hanaway said. "We appreciate Secretary Hoskins’s continued commitment to upholding the law and working diligently to fulfill his duties on behalf of Missouri."

UPDATE, 12:40 p.m. | In a statement just after 12:30 p.m. Thursday, Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins says he is instructing local election officials to use the 2022 congressional map for this November's election.

"Following the United States Supreme Court’s stay, the only governing court order in effect is from the Missouri Supreme Court. In accordance with that order, my Office is directing local election authorities to use the 2022 congressional map," Hoskins said.

ORIGINAL REPORT | A federal judge has allowed Missouri’s top court to proceed with a contempt hearing Thursday against Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins in a tense and twisting legal battle over whether new congressional districts supported by President Donald Trump can be used in the November election.

Missouri’s battle over its congressional districts has spanned more than a year and spawned confusion over which districts will be in place for voters.

The state’s top court previously ordered Hoskins not to use a Trump-backed map in the general election and instead use districts passed after the last census. But U.S. District Judge Stephen Clark on Tuesday barred Hoskins from using anything other than the new map Trump supports.

Moments before Thursday's contempt hearing began, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a stay that prevented Clark's ruling from taking effect.

The state Supreme Court then ordered Hoskins to appear for a contempt hearing Thursday for not following its orders and instructing local election authorities to use the Trump-backed districts.

State attorneys representing Hoskins had asked Clark to halt the contempt hearing. But Clark declined to do so.

Missouri was the second Republican-led state, after Texas, to enact new districts after Trump urged Republicans last year to redraw House districts to their advantage ahead of the midterm elections.

The revised Missouri districts target a Kansas City-based seat held by Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver by shedding parts into neighboring districts and stretching the remainder into rural Republican areas. The goal is to help Republicans win seven of the state’s eight House seats in the midterm elections — a gain of one seat.

Redistricting opponents collected hundreds of thousands of petition signatures seeking to force a statewide vote on the new districts. They submitted the signatures in December. But Hoskins waited until August — on the same day as Missouri’s primary — to reject the petition. Hoskins asserted that a referendum petition could not be used for congressional redistricting.

The delay allowed Missouri to use the new districts in its August primary. Republican state officials have argued it would violate voters' federal rights to switch districts before the general election.

But the Missouri Supreme Court last week ordered Hoskins to put the redistricting referendum on the November ballot, which he did. It also ruled that the new districts never became law and instead were suspended retroactively to the December petition submission.

The court barred Hoskins from using the new map and said the old map — passed by Republican lawmakers in 2022 after the last census — must be used in the November election. The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to hear an appeal of that decision. But Clark issued his conflicting order moments later.

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