Missouri Unveils Congressional Map That Redistricts Itself Weekly to Outrun the Supreme Court
State officials say the new 'living map' updates every Monday at midnight, ensuring litigation is always one district behind.
State lawmakers announced Monday that Missouri's congressional boundaries will now shift automatically on a seven-day cycle, a move officials describe as the only way to comply with judicial rulings before the rulings are finished being read aloud.
Under the new system, a voter's district could change between breakfast and dinner, though the state has promised to text residents their current congressional affiliation each morning "for convenience, not confusion."
"We came together as one legislature, divided into rotating shifts," said a spokesperson for the map's scheduling office, before excusing themselves to attend a subcommittee meeting about which subcommittee should oversee the map.
Election law experts note that by the time any court could rule the map unconstitutional, it will already have been replaced by a different, equally unconstitutional map, creating what one aide called "a permanent state of pending litigation, which is its own kind of stability."
Voters are advised to bring a pencil, not a pen, when filling out their ballots, in case their congressional district is renamed before the polls close.