Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito reinstated Texas’ congressional map after the state requested an emergency stay from the high court.
Alito issued an administrative stay, which allows the state to keep using the map it passed earlier this summer. A lower federal court in El Paso had blocked the new congressional maps, ruling the intentionally targeted Black and Hispanic voters as to dilute their voting power.
Alito’s ruling called for the map challengers to respond in writing by Monday.
The Supreme Court justice’s ruling did not address the constitutional merits of Texas’ new map.
The court’s conservative majority has blocked similar lower court rulings because they have come too close to elections.
The order was signed by Alito because he is the justice who handles emergency appeals from Texas.
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 and Reuters contributed to this report.
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