Trendpills
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito has issued a temporary administrative stay, pausing a lower court ruling that found Texas's new congressional map was drawn with discriminatory intent against minority voters. The move temporarily allows Texas to proceed with its contested map while the full court considers the state's emergency request.
The challenge originated from a decision by a three-judge federal panel in San Antonio, which concluded that the Republican-controlled Texas Legislature had engaged in racial gerrymandering. The lower court found that the map unlawfully diluted the voting power of Black and Hispanic residents in violation of the Voting Rights Act. Specifically, the ruling targeted two congressional districts as problematic and would have required the state to redraw its electoral boundaries ahead of the next elections.
In response, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that the map is lawful and has been used in several prior election cycles without issue. State officials claim that forcing a redistricting effort so close to an election would cause significant disruption and "unnecessary election confusion." The state's filing asks the justices to allow the current map to remain in place for the 2026 election cycle while the legal battle over its constitutionality continues.
Justice Alito’s administrative stay is a procedural step, not a final decision on the merits of the case. It serves to freeze the lower court’s order to give the plaintiffs time to respond and the full Supreme Court adequate time to review the state's application for a more prolonged stay. The challengers, which include civil rights groups, argue that the map was deliberately designed to diminish the political influence of minority communities, which were responsible for 95% of Texas's population growth over the past decade.
This legal fight is a key front in the nationwide battle over redistricting following the 2020 Census. Critics of the Texas map point out that while the state gained two new congressional seats due to its population boom, the new boundaries did not create any additional minority-opportunity districts. Instead, they argue the map was drawn to solidify Republican incumbents and expand the party's majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.
