Overview
- The 6-3 order reinstates Texas’s 2025 congressional map after a three-judge panel found it likely relied on race and directed a return to the 2021 lines.
- The unsigned opinion faulted the lower court for not honoring a presumption of legislative good faith and cited the risk of changing election rules close to voting.
- The map was designed to help Republicans win up to five additional U.S. House seats, a potentially decisive boost given the GOP’s narrow majority.
- The decision is temporary as litigation continues, with candidate filing in Texas closing Dec. 8 and primaries scheduled for March 2026.
- Texas’s move is part of a broader mid‑decade redistricting fight that includes a California counter‑map now in court and Florida leaders weighing a redraw as the Supreme Court considers a separate Voting Rights Act case from Louisiana.