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In a unsigned decision, the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for Texas to implement a newly configured congressional map that is projected to include up to five additional GOP-friendly districts. The six-to-three decision, released on Thursday, upholds a petition by the state to overturn a district court's ruling that had invalidated the new map in November.

Justices' Explanation

The federal judge improperly inserted itself into an active primary campaign, generating much confusion and disturbing the delicate balance of power in elections, the justices wrote in explaining its action.

The district court had previously found that Texas had probably classified voters by their race – a method known as unconstitutional racial sorting – when it enacted the new maps. It had ordered the state to use the maps created after the last decennial survey for the next year's election.

Strong Dissenting Opinion

In a forcefully written dissent, Justice Elena Kagan criticized the court's decision. She contended that it undermined the work of the lower court, pointing out that its ruling was crafted by a judge nominated by ex-President Donald Trump.

While our court is superior in jurisdiction, we are not superior in making these fact-intensive determinations, Kagan argued in a dissent supported by Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson.

The justice went on, Today's ruling guarantees that Texas's new map, with all its enhanced favoritism, will control next year's elections. And it ensures that many Texas residents, for no good reason, will be sorted in electoral districts due to their race. And that result, as this court has pronounced year in and year out, is a violation of the U.S. Constitution.

National Redistricting Fight

The court's action is part of a nationwide contest over the redrawing of electoral maps. Texas is a crucial component in campaigns to transform the U.S. House map to bolster a slim Republican majority. Typically, redistricting occurs after a new decade's census. Yet the action by Texas Republicans to proceed with a aggressive mid-cycle redistricting earlier in the summer sparked a series of events among other states.

Conservative legislators in states like North Carolina and Missouri have also approved new maps that are estimated to yield several additional conservative seats. Democrats, meanwhile, have responded with their own plans in including California and Virginia, which could offset those projected gains.

Partisan Reactions

Lone Star State top lawyer hailed the supreme court ruling. In a comment, he said the order defended Texas's prerogative to draw a map that ensures electoral outcomes aligned with his party. We are setting the precedent for restoring our country, through each electoral district and individual state, he remarked.

In contrast, Democratic leaders lamented the ruling. It is deeply disheartening that the Court has endorsed this severely racially gerrymandered plan from Texas Republicans, said the leader of a major Democratic election organization.

Another leading Democratic figure stated the court had yet again eroded 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 concluded.