Though the Supreme Court declined last week to get involved in the battle over Missouri’s congressional maps, the fight was back in a federal appeals court Thursday, with ballots set to be sent out in a matter of days. 

The question of timing was central before this three-judge panel for the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which heard oral arguments led by several GOP congressional candidates, according to The Hill. 

State officials are proceeding with a House map that gives the GOP a 6-2 advantage after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling last week that blocked a newer 7-1 set of lines from going into effect. That left in place a state Supreme Court ruling that found the newly designed map could not be enforced until it is approved by voters in a general election referendum.   

“When do we reach the point of no return?” asked Trump-appointed Judge David Stras. An attorney for a Democratic-aligned organizer challenging the map, argued that moment had passed. 

“It’s already too late,” he said. “Those ballots are printed.” 

The boundaries, which had already been used for the primaries, would have given the Missouri GOP a potential addition to its House delegation.