The BareStory
A federal judicial panel blocked Texas from using a new congressional map on November 18, finding it was likely an unconstitutional, race-based gerrymander. The 2-1 decision prevents the implementation of a map that would have made five districts more favorable to Republicans. The court ordered Texas to revert to its 2021 district boundaries for future elections.
According to the court's majority opinion, the map was drawn at the urging of the Trump administration to fulfill what the court described as racial objectives demanded by the Department of Justice. The judges wrote that a July 7 letter from the DOJ's Civil Rights Division, which the court called "error-filled," spurred the redistricting effort. The court also found that claims by state lawmakers of having race-blind partisan motivations were not believable.
The state of Texas appealed the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court on the same day. A statement from the Texas governor’s office called the court’s decision "clearly erroneous" and any claim of discrimination "absurd." The White House and the Department of Justice did not immediately issue comments on the ruling.
According to one summary, Texas Minority Leader Gene Wu praised the court’s decision, stating state Republicans had attempted to silence voters to placate Donald Trump. The ruling is a setback for a national Republican redistricting effort, as other states, including Missouri and North Carolina, have also redrawn maps to add GOP-leaning seats, prompting legal challenges.
How it may affect me
As a U.S. reader:
• This ruling temporarily prevents a new map that would have made five Texas congressional districts more favorable to Republicans, pending a Supreme Court appeal.
• The Supreme Court's eventual decision could set a precedent for how other states can legally redraw their congressional districts in the future.
• The outcome of this case and similar ones in other states will affect the partisan balance of power in the U.S. House of Representatives.
