The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday temporarily stayed a lower-court decision that found Texas’ 2026 congressional redistricting plan likely discriminates on the basis of race. The short-term order, signed by Justice Samuel Alito, will remain in effect for at least a few days while the high court considers whether the Republican-favored map may be used in next year’s midterm elections.
The conservative majority on the Court has previously blocked similar lower-court rulings issued close to elections. The stay followed a request from Texas seeking to avoid confusion as congressional primary ballots are finalized ahead of March. Alito signed the order because he oversees emergency appeals from Texas.
Texas redrew its congressional map last summer amid efforts tied to former President Trump to protect a narrow Republican majority in the U.S. House, producing a map that would add five Republican-leaning seats. A three-judge federal panel in El Paso this week ruled 2-1 that civil rights groups representing Black and Hispanic voters were likely to prevail in their challenge to that map. If that ruling is ultimately upheld, Texas could be required to hold elections under the congressional map the GOP-controlled Legislature adopted in 2021 following the 2020 census.
Texas was the first state to adopt a new map under that push; Missouri and North Carolina later enacted maps aimed at adding one Republican seat each. In contrast, California voters approved a ballot measure intended to increase Democratic representation by about five seats. All of those new maps are facing litigation in state and federal courts.
Separately, the Supreme Court is weighing a Louisiana case that could further restrict use of race when drawing districts under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. It is not yet clear how that decision, if issued, would affect the current round of redistricting disputes across multiple states.