KEMETIC MINDS — BREAKING NEWS
September 12, 2026
The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has scheduled a hearing for 10 a.m. on Sept. 17 in St. Louis for arguments in Missouri’s congressional redistricting case [1].
The hearing comes after the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday blocked a federal court’s ruling that had required Missouri to use its new gerrymandered map in the November midterm elections [1].
Key Facts
- The 8th Circuit hearing is set for 10 a.m. Sept. 17 in St. Louis, the latest step in what the source describes as a “whiplash-inducing saga” over which congressional map Missouri can use in the midterms [1].
- Thursday’s Supreme Court action blocking the lower court ruling means the 2022 congressional map will likely stand, according to redistricting opponents and some legal experts [1].
- The Missouri Supreme Court ruled unanimously on Sept. 3 that the state must use its 2022 congressional map for the November election, finding Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins was wrong to reject a petition campaign seeking to strike down the gerrymandered map, called HB 1 [1].
- The state court ruled the issue must appear on the Nov. 3 ballot and that the gerrymandered map can only be used if voters approve it [1].
- A campaign called People Not Politicians collected more than 305,000 signatures to force a statewide vote on the map [1].
How the fight reached the 8th Circuit
Missouri Republican lawmakers redrew the congressional map last year under pressure from the Trump administration [1].
People Not Politicians used a referendum — a mechanism for direct democracy that allows citizens to challenge laws — to force a statewide vote on the new map, gathering more than 305,000 signatures [1].
The Missouri Supreme Court’s Sept. 3 ruling marked the culmination of that fight [1]. The unanimous decision found Hoskins was wrong to reject the petition campaign, and it ordered that the map question appear on the Nov. 3 ballot, with the gerrymandered map usable only if voters approve it [1].
That ruling handed a key loss to President Donald Trump amid a bitter fight for control of Congress this year, according to the source’s reporting [1].
Next week’s 8th Circuit hearing involves a lawsuit filed by U.S. Rep. Bob Onder and state Sen. Rick Brattin after the Missouri Supreme Court’s Sept. 3 decision [1].
What the Supreme Court’s action changes
Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond, said the high court’s move makes it hard to see how the 8th Circuit could rule the other way.
“The Supreme Court is the Supreme Court for the country,” Tobias said. “So it’s hard to understand why the 8th Circuit could do anything that would be counter to what the Supreme Court’s already said” [1].
“And they’re not likely going to be able to do it before the election,” he said. “That’s sort of the bottom line” [1].
Tobias pointed to the Supreme Court’s action blocking the Missouri order as an application of what is called the “Purcell principle,” a doctrine holding that courts should not change election rules too close to an election [1].
“They’re very reluctant to allow something like this to happen at the last minute,” Tobias said. “But they’ve been following that more selectively recently, so it’s really hard to tell” [1].
The practical effect, as described by opponents of the map and the experts cited, is that Missouri voters would cast midterm ballots under the 2022 map rather than the redrawn one — unless the 8th Circuit acts before November [1].
What’s Still Unconfirmed
It is not yet confirmed what the 8th Circuit will do at the Sept. 17 hearing, or whether it could issue any ruling before the November election. Tobias said the court is “not likely going to be able to do it before the election,” but he also said the Supreme Court’s recent approach to the Purcell principle makes the outcome “really hard to tell” [1]. The source text also does not state the specific terms of Thursday’s Supreme Court action beyond its effect of blocking the federal court’s ruling [1].
Black Excellence This Week
The hard news is real, and so is this. Wins reported by the Black press in the last 14 days:
- Another North Carolina HBCU shatters enrollment record as Black colleges surge
miamiherald.com · 2026-09-11 - 5 Things You May Not Know About XCEL Award Honoree Dr. Bernard Harris
blackenterprise.com · 2026-09-10 - HBCUs Are Building New Support Systems for Black Male Students
capitalbnews.org · 2026-09-08 - Florida HBCU Announces Historic Enrollment
miamiherald.com · 2026-09-02
What You Can Do This Week
Not just bad news — here is where to push.
- Call your U.S. senators and demand they pass federal voting rights legislation to counter state redistricting rollbacks. — Find your U.S. senators
- Verify your voter registration is current and update your address before new Missouri district maps take effect. — Check your voter registration
- Attend your state legislature’s next redistricting hearing and testify against maps that dilute Black voting power. — Find your state legislators
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- Yahoo. (2026, September 12). 8th Circuit to hear Missouri redistricting case following U.S. Supreme Court ruling. yahoo.com ↩a ↩b ↩c ↩d ↩e ↩f ↩g ↩h ↩i ↩j ↩k ↩l ↩m ↩n ↩o ↩p ↩q ↩r ↩s ↩t
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