Texas is requesting the Supreme Court issue an emergency order allowing the congressional redistricting maps it passed be allowed to take effect for the 2026 midterm elections.
The Lone Star state’s appeal comes after a lower federal court in El Paso blocked the maps from going into effect, ruling 2-1 the map intentionally targeted Black and Hispanic voters in a way that would dilute their voting power, violating the federal Voting Rights Act.
"The Legislature redrew our congressional maps to better reflect Texans' conservative voting preferences -- and for no other reason. Any claim that these maps are discriminatory is absurd and unsupported by the testimony offered during ten days of hearings," Texas Gov. Greg Abbott wrote following the ruling.
Texas had passed a new congressional map at the request of President Donald Trump designed to be more favorable to Republicans, as they fight to retain their razor-thin majority in the house of Representatives.
The redistricting push from Texas caused other states to redraw their maps outside the normal 10-year period when designated by a census, including California, where voters approved a proposition to redraw its maps that could give Democrats an additional five seats in Congress.
Missouri and North Carolina redrew its maps to give Republicans an additional seat, while efforts to redistrict in Indiana and Kansas have yet to pass.
The new maps in California, Missouri and North Carolina also face court challenges.
Texas wants the Supreme Court to intervene to avoid confusion with congressional primary elections set for March. The justices have blocked past lower-court rulings in congressional redistricting cases, most recently in Alabama and Louisiana, that came several months before elections.
Abbott had vowed to swiftly appeal following the lower court’s ruling.
"This ruling is clearly erroneous and undermines the authority the U.S. Constitution assigns to the Texas Legislature by imposing a different map by judicial edict. The State of Texas will swiftly appeal to the United States Supreme Court," Abbott said.
If the Supreme Court does not intervene, Texas could be forced to hold its elections using the map drawn in 2021, following the 2020 census.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
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