Supreme Court approves Texas' use of new congressional district map favoring Republicans

WASHINGTON The Supreme Court has cleared the way for Texas to implement a new congressional district map in next years midterm elections, a map designed to enhance Republican influence.

The court granted an emergency request from Governor Greg Abbott, temporarily blocking a lower court ruling that had deemed the map illegal. The lower court found that Republican legislators, following guidance from the Trump administration, had explicitly considered race when redrawing districts.

The Supreme Courts unsigned order stated that Texas is likely to succeed on the merits of its claim, criticizing the lower court for not giving sufficient weight to the presumption that the legislature acted in good faith.

The decision appears to have passed with a 6-3 vote, with the three liberal justices dissenting. Justice Elena Kagan, in her dissent, argued that the ruling undermines the district court, which had determined that certain minority voters were reassigned based on race.

The new map aims to secure up to five additional Republican seats in the House, a goal that is uncontested, but the lower court noted that it also involved relocating some minority voters to different districts.

In a concurring opinion, Justice Samuel Alito countered Kagans argument, emphasizing that plaintiffs challenging the map needed to provide evidence that race, rather than partisanship, was the primary factorsuch as producing alternative maps demonstrating that political objectives could have been met differently. He suggested the plaintiffs failure to do so implies the map was motivated by partisan goals, not racial considerations.

The ruling represents a political win for former President Donald Trump, who submitted a brief urging the court to side with Texas. Attorney General Ken Paxton, defending the map, praised the decision, calling it a major victory for Texas and conservatives.

The Supreme Court had initially put the case on hold on November 21 while considering its next steps, in an order signed by Alito.

Redistricting usually occurs every ten years after the census to reflect population changes. However, this year, Trump encouraged Republican-led states to redraw maps ahead of schedule, concerned about the slim Republican majority in the House. A letter from his administration warned that Texas could face federal litigation if coalition districts with majority nonwhite voters were not eliminated.

Although a 2019 Supreme Court ruling allows states to redraw districts to strengthen the majority party, constitutional and Voting Rights Act limits still apply when race is a factor. In response, Democrats have initiated a map redrawing effort in California to offset potential Republican gains, which may also reach the Supreme Court.

In Texas, a three-judge panel had struck down the new map on a 2-1 vote, with the majority opinion by Judge Jeffrey Brown, noting evidence of racial gerrymandering violating the 14th Amendment. Texas argued to the Supreme Court that federal judges were intervening too late in the election cycle and denied any racial motivation, insisting the map was purely political.

The lawsuit challenging the map was filed by six groups, including the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), the Texas NAACP, and Representatives Al Green and Jasmine Crockett. Plaintiffs argued that the governors justification for redistricting centered on removing coalition districts, indicating race was the primary factor rather than politics.

Author: Harper Simmons