(The Center Square) \u2013 Texas is appealing a federal district court ruling in a lawsuit filed over its new redistricting law.\u00a0<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, a panel of three judges on an El Paso district court ruled 2-1 against the new congressional maps and ordered Texas to use a 2021 redistricting map for the 2026 midterm election.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Judge Jeffrey Brown wrote the opinion for the court noting that the same groups that sued over the 2025 electoral map also sued over the 2021 electoral map, also claiming it was discriminatory.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Despite this, Brown said, \u201cthere are several reasons why revering to that map is the most legally sound reasonable solution. First, this remedy is the one the Plaintiff Groups request. Second, the 2021 Map was drawn by the Legislature, and courts favor legislative-drawn maps over judicial ones. Third, the State has already used the 2021 Map in two previous congressional elections and is still using it in one special election that is ongoing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gov. Greg Abbott and Republican members of the legislature, who hold the majority, argue both maps are legal and the legislature followed the law when drawing them. The 2025 map better reflects the will of the voters who have overwhelmingly increased voting Republican in the last two elections, including Hispanic-majority districts, they argue.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThe Legislature redrew our congressional maps to better reflect Texans’ conservative voting preferences \u2013 and for no other reason,\u201d Abbott said. \u201cAny claim that these maps are discriminatory is absurd and unsupported by the testimony offered during ten days of hearings.”<\/p>\n He said the court\u2019s ruling \u201cis 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Attorney General Ken Paxton also said his office was appealing to the Supreme Court requesting it to stay the lower court\u2019s ruling. He also said the 2025 map is \u201centirely legal.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The ruling is the latest effort made by Democrats to block the law from going into effect. Earlier this year, House Democrats left the state to prevent the House from reaching quorum so the House couldn\u2019t conduct legislative business and pass the redistricting bill, or any other bills. Texas House Democrats fled to California, Illinois, New York and other states with the stated purpose to obstruct state legislative business, prompting Abbott to sue Democratic leaders and call special sessions.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n After enough Democrats returned to enable the Texas House to meet quorum, the legislature passed the bill, which Abbott signed<\/a> into law. Not soon after, six groups sued, led by the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), arguing the new map was discriminatory.\u00a0<\/p>\n The legislature redrew<\/a> 37 of Texas\u2019 38 congressional districts after Texas reported record population increases and Republicans made record gains with Hispanic and Black voters in the last two elections, The Center Square\u00a0reported<\/a>. The new maps potentially could flip up to five seats held by Democrats to Republican.\u00a0<\/p>\n One of the bill\u2019s authors, state Sen. Phil King, R-Weatherford, argued earlier this year that the maps aren\u2019t racist but were drawn along voting patterns and political preferences.<\/p>\n \u201cIn contrast to the complications that are involved with race-based redistricting, political performance is really a pretty easy map to draw and it\u2019s absolutely permissible as a basis for drawing electoral districts,\u201d he said.<\/a> Based on 2024 voting trends, voters in newly drawn districts could elect at least five more Republicans to Texas’ congressional delegation. Currently, it consists of 25 Republicans and 13 Democrats.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThat doesn\u2019t mean [voters] will do that in 2026,\u201d King said. \u201cThere are no guarantees. There are competitive districts in here now, more competitive than the current map, and I have no idea who\u2019s going to run for what office.\u201d<\/p>\n