The Supreme Court,
explained in plain English.
Independent coverage of every major case, decision, and legal issue — written for everyday Americans who want to understand the law without being told what to think.
People Not Politicians v. Onder
The U.S. Supreme Court stayed federal court orders that had required Missouri to use a 2025 redistricting map, ensuring the 2022 map remains in place for the ongoing 2026 election.
Department of Homeland Security v. League of Women Voters
The Supreme Court stayed a lower court order that had blocked the federal government from using a modified voter-verification program involving Social Security Administration records.
What the Court just decided
People Not Politicians v. Onder
The U.S. Supreme Court stayed federal court orders that had required Missouri to use a 2025 redistricting map, ensuring the 2022 map remains in place for the ongoing 2026 election.
Read the full breakdownThe Supreme Court stayed a lower court order that had blocked the federal government from using a modified voter-verification program involving Social Security Administration records.
The Supreme Court stayed a lower court ruling because challengers likely filed their lawsuit before the Federal Communications Commission finished its own internal review process.
The Supreme Court granted a stay allowing construction of a new White House East Wing to continue while a legal challenge proceeds.
Cases awaiting a decision.
This section tracks the cases the Supreme Court hears during its term, from argument to decision. The Court isn't sitting for arguments right now. New cases will appear here once the next argument session opens — usually the first Monday of October, with additional sittings through April.
What Americans are tracking
People Not Politicians v. Onder
Missouri made a new map for choosing members of Congress in 2025, but state law says voters have to give a 'thumbs up' in a special vote called a referendum before it can be used. Some people went to federal court to try and force the state to use the new map right now, even though the election has already started and ballots have been mailed out. The Supreme Court stepped in and said 'no' to the federal courts. The Justices said that changing the rules while people are already voting would cause too much confusion. Because of this, Missouri will keep using its old 2022 map for this year's election.
More plain-language explainersHow recent rulings touch everyday life
For Missouri voters, this means the congressional districts for the 2026 election are now settled and will follow the 2022 boundaries. If you have already received or cast an absentee or military ballot, that ballot remains the correct one for this election. The 2025 map is not gone forever, but it will only become law if a majority of Missouri voters approve it during the upcoming referendum. This ruling aims to prevent confusion at polling places and in mail-in voting that could occur if district lines changed while an election was already underway.
Read more →State election offices can now use a broader federal database to check if registered voters are U.S. citizens. For most voters, this process happens behind the scenes and requires no action. However, if federal records have not been updated to show a person's naturalization, that individual might receive a request from their local election office to provide proof of citizenship. The Court's ruling means these checks can continue using Social Security data even while the lawsuits about privacy and procedure are still being decided in lower courts.
Read more →For now, political parties can continue to buy TV and radio ads at the same discounted rates offered to individual candidates. This decision means that when people or groups disagree with a government agency's rule, they usually have to wait for the agency to finish its internal appeals process before they can ask a federal court to step in. Because the Supreme Court paused the lower court's ruling, the FCC's original policy remains in effect during the current election cycle. This affects how much money political groups spend on ads and how broadcasters bill for that airtime.
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