"A panel of three federal judges in Texas said in a decision that the state must use previously approved 2021 maps for next year's midterms rather than the ones that kickstarted a wave of mid-decade redistricting. The plaintiffs, including the League of United Latin American Citizens, are likely to prove at trial that Texas racially gerrymandered the 2025 map, so the court approved a preliminary injunction to stop the map's use for next year's elections."
"Texas Republicans, under pressure from the Trump administration, redrew the state's congressional maps earlier this year to make them more favorable to Republicans. But, Judge Jeffrey Brown wrote, the district changes were not purely partisan. The public perception of this case is that it's about politics, Brown wrote. To be sure, politics played a role in drawing the 2025 map. But it was much more than just politics. Substantial evidence shows that Texas racially gerrymandered the 2025 map."
A federal judge barred Texas from using its 2025 congressional maps for the 2026 midterms, finding the maps likely racially gerrymandered. The court granted a preliminary injunction and ordered use of the previously approved 2021 maps for next year's elections. Plaintiffs including the League of United Latin American Citizens argued the 2025 maps diluted minority voting power. Texas Republicans redrew maps earlier in the year with pressure from the Trump administration to create more Republican seats. The court found evidence that racial considerations, not solely partisanship, shaped the maps. The decision is likely to be appealed.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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