The Texas State Capitol connected the time of a caller league of the Texas House aft Democratic lawmakers near the authorities to contradict Republicans the accidental to redraw the state's 38 legislature districts, successful Austin, Texas, U.S., August 11, 2025.
Sergio Flores | Reuters
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday temporarily blocked a lower court ruling that recovered Texas' 2026 legislature redistricting program pushed by President Donald Trump apt discriminates connected the ground of race.
The bid signed by Justice Samuel Alito volition stay successful spot astatine slightest for the adjacent fewer days portion the tribunal considers whether to let the caller representation favorable to Republicans to beryllium utilized successful the midterm elections.
The court's blimpish bulk has blocked akin little tribunal rulings due to the fact that they person travel excessively adjacent to elections.
The bid came astir an hr aft the authorities called connected the precocious tribunal to intervene to debar disorder arsenic legislature superior elections attack successful March. The justices person blocked past lower-court rulings successful legislature redistricting cases, astir precocious successful Alabama and Louisiana, that came respective months earlier elections.
The bid was signed by Alito due to the fact that helium is the justness who handles exigency appeals from Texas.
Texas redrew its legislature representation successful the summertime arsenic portion of Trump's efforts to sphere a slim Republican bulk successful the House successful adjacent year's elections, touching disconnected a nationwide redistricting battle. The caller redistricting representation was engineered to springiness Republicans 5 further House seats, but a sheet of national judges successful El Paso ruled 2-1 Tuesday that the civilian rights groups that challenged the representation connected behalf of Black and Hispanic voters were apt to triumph their case.
If that ruling yet holds, Texas could beryllium forced to clasp elections adjacent twelvemonth utilizing the representation drawn by the GOP-controlled Legislature successful 2021 based connected the 2020 census.
Texas was the archetypal authorities to conscionable Trump's demands successful what has become an expanding nationalist battle over redistricting. Republicans drew the state's caller representation to springiness the GOP 5 further seats, and Missouri and North Carolina followed with caller maps adding an further Republican spot each. To antagonistic those moves, California voters approved a ballot inaugural to springiness Democrats an further 5 seats there.
The redrawn maps are facing tribunal challenges successful California, Missouri and North Carolina.
The Supreme Court is separately considering a lawsuit from Louisiana which could further limit race-based districts under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. It's not wholly wide however the existent circular of redistricting would beryllium affected by the result successful the Louisiana case.
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