Samuel Alito's Ruling on Texas Election Map Challeng...

By Gabe Whisnant

Breaking News Editor

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Voting-rights groups on Monday filed a new challenge to Justice Samuel Alito’s order allowing Texas to use its newly drawn congressional map, telling the U.S. Supreme Court the state’s plan is an “extraordinary” case of racial gerrymandering that cannot be shielded by the Purcell principle. The complaint, submitted days after Alito temporarily reinstated the Republican-favored map, argues the lower court was correct in finding that Black and Hispanic voters were likely to prevail on claims that the 2026 district lines dilute minority voting power.

Alito issued the emergency order Friday in his capacity as the justice who handles urgent appeals from Texas, saying the map could remain in place while the full court considers whether it should be used for the 2026 midterm elections. Texas urged the justices to intervene quickly, warning that any change to district lines months before the March primary would disrupt election preparations and confuse voters. The state also leaned heavily on the Purcell principle, a judicial guideline advising courts to avoid altering election rules or boundaries close to an election.

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But the groups challenging the map say Purcell does not apply here, noting that the general election is more than a year away, the candidate-filing window remains open for weeks, and state officials testified at trial that those deadlines could be extended without any significant administrative burden. They argue that reverting to the map used in the previous two election cycles would create less confusion than keeping the disputed version in place.

A three-judge federal panel in El Paso ruled 2–1 last week that Texas’ latest redistricting plan — enacted this summer as part of former President Donald Trump’s push to lock in a narrow House majority — was likely drawn with discriminatory intent. The map, engineered to give Republicans five additional seats, is one of several GOP-backed redistricting plans facing court challenges nationwide. Missouri and North Carolina have adopted similar maps adding one Republican seat apiece, while California voters approved a separate initiative designed to give Democrats five additional seats.

If the lower court ruling ultimately prevails, Texas could be forced to revert to the 2021 map drawn by the GOP-controlled Legislature using 2020 census data. The Supreme Court’s decision in the coming days will determine whether the 2026 map remains intact while litigation continues.

The dispute comes as the justices also weigh a redistricting case from Louisiana that could significantly narrow the use of race-based districts under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, a ruling that could reverberate across multiple states embroiled in similar fights.

This is a breaking news story. Updates to follow.

This article includes reporting by the Associated Press.

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