Nation's Highest Court Upholds Redrawn Texas House Maps.
Via an per curiam ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court permitted Texas to use a newly configured congressional district plan that could add as many as five new Republican-leaning districts. The six-to-three ruling, issued on Thursday, upholds a appeal by the state to overturn a federal judge's ruling that had struck down the new map in November.
Justices' Reasoning
The federal judge improperly inserted itself into an active primary campaign, generating much confusion and upsetting the delicate balance of power in elections, the supreme court said in explaining its action.
The district court had previously found that Texas had likely grouped voters according to their race – a practice known as illegal race-based districting – when it enacted the boundaries. It had instructed the state to employ the maps drawn after the last decennial survey for the upcoming election.
Strong Opposition
With a forcefully written objection, Justice Elena Kagan criticized the majority's decision. She stated that it undermined the work of the lower court, observing that its decision was crafted by a judge selected by ex-President Donald Trump.
Our position is above the district court, but our capability is not greater for resolving such fact-driven issues, Kagan wrote in a dissent co-signed by Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Kagan added, This court's stay ensures that Texas's new map, with all its increased political tilt, will govern next year's elections. And it guarantees that many Texas residents, without justification, will be placed in electoral districts due to their race. And that result, as this court has stated repeatedly, is a breach of the law of the land.
National Map-Drawing Struggle
This decision is part of a nationwide fight over the redistricting of electoral maps. Texas is a crucial component in campaigns to transform the U.S. House map to secure a fragile Republican hold. Typically, redistricting happens after a ten-year survey. Yet the decision by Texas Republicans to proceed with a bold mid-cycle redistricting earlier in the summer triggered a wave among other states.
GOP lawmakers in states like North Carolina and Missouri have also enacted new maps that might create several more conservative seats. The opposition, meanwhile, have responded with new maps in including California and Virginia, which are intended to balance those potential gains.
Partisan Reactions
Lone Star State top lawyer welcomed the supreme court ruling. In a comment, he said the order defended Texas's prerogative to draw a map that secures electoral outcomes favorable to the GOP. We are setting the precedent for restoring our country, through each electoral district and individual state, he stated.
In contrast, opposition party officials decried the ruling. The Court's approval of this extreme, racially gerrymandered Texas GOP map is profoundly disappointing, said the chair of a major party campaign committee.
Another senior Democratic leader stated the court had once again damaged its credibility by rubber-stamping a racially gerrymandered map. This decision from the Court's far-right bloc proves extremists are willing to rig elections. The Texas map is a discriminatory power grab targeting Black and Latino voters, he added.
