For President Trump, it is "a black day for the law," while for activists in Missouri, that law triumphs. The Missouri Supreme Court has blocked a Republican attempt to redraw electoral districts in their own favor. First, a referendum must be held.
Both Republicans and Democrats have been redrawing electoral districts in their own favor for years as soon as they gain power in a state. In the US, this is called 'gerrymandering.'
Normally, this happens right after the census, which takes place every ten years. Under pressure from Trump, red states like Texas and Missouri are now doing it just before the elections, to which blue states like California respond in turn. Such a coordinated last-minute action before the midterms is new. The net gain for the Republicans is likely ten seats or more.
'Dirty Tricks'
Due to the manipulation, Democrats also risked losing a seat in Congress in Missouri. In Kansas City, the state's largest city, the predominantly black population has effortlessly secured election victories for their black representative for decades.
In the redistricting, white rural villages far into the surroundings were attached to the city district, areas that usually vote Republican. Because of this mixing, the incumbent black candidate suddenly risked defeat against his Republican opponent.
"Very dirty tricks, very sad," says the African-American Jane. "America is now only represented by those Trump puts forward." Jane is of Nigerian descent and rummages through second-hand goods on Troost Avenue, the street along which the new district boundary runs.
This is especially poignant here, because Troost Avenue has a charged history. The street is named after the Dutch slaveholder Benoist Troost, one of the founders of Kansas City, and until the 1960s formed the official dividing line between the white and black communities.
"It is a double slap in our face," says Chris Goode, an entrepreneur on Troost Avenue. "This red line is now further entrenched." He runs a store on the 'white side' of the street: "My grandfather could not have done that, Jewish, Latino, or black Americans did not get mortgages there."
Signatures Collected
Attempts by Goode to rename the street to 'Truth Avenue' failed. Because of the new electoral map, he feels marginalized again. Goode's juice bar suddenly falls outside the district of the black candidate.
For the entrepreneur, the redistricting goes beyond political maneuvering. "They tried not only to take a seat away but also to push our face into the ground," he says emotionally. "They kick you while you are already on the ground."
Angry residents of Missouri collected over 300,000 signatures to force a referendum against the redistricting but were ignored by the head of the election board, a Republican. They also lost at two lower courts last month. So they went to the Supreme Court, where their case was heard this week.
Protest at the Court
Outside the Court in Jefferson City, several hundred protesters gather during the hearing. One of them carries a coffin. "That's where the constitution is, the Republicans are trying to tear it down," says demonstrator Zane Scott.
For a black protester, the issue reopens old wounds. "My father used to have to pay 'poll tax' at the ballot box." That was a measure southern states used to try to keep black voters away.
Voters should choose their politicians, not the other way around, says Richard von Glahn of the activist group People Not Politicians, which filed the case. A day later, he is proven right: the seven high judges unanimously decide that the residents of Missouri must first vote on the redistricting before the map can be used. That referendum will be held in early November, simultaneously with the Congressional elections.
Trump Furious
President Trump reacts furiously on his platform Truth Social: according to him, it is impossible to change the map back within the short time remaining before the midterm elections.
Moreover, Missouri residents already voted in the recent primaries, where they chose their preferred candidate within their own party, according to the new map. Authorities in the state warn of chaos because the ballots for the Congressional elections must be sent out in two weeks. And not only in Missouri is confusion threatened: similar lawsuits are ongoing in a dozen other states.
Missouri still has an appeal pending at the Supreme Court in Washington DC. That court gave the state of Texas provisional approval for a redrawn electoral map at the end of last year.
See below what 'gerrymandering' is and how it works: