A US federal court has blocked Texas from using new voting maps drawn by Republicans in an attempt to bolster their majority in the 2026 midterm elections.
The court said the evidence indicated the new congressional districts were “racially gerrymandered” and ordered the state to use the same congressional positions they had in place before redistricting earlier this year.
Republicans in the state Legislature redrawn congressional districts mid-decade, prompting both Democratic and Republican-led states to follow suit and adjust their maps for political advantage ahead of next year's midterm elections.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott vowed to “immediately appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court” against Tuesday's decision.
Gerrymandering—the redrawing of electoral boundaries to favor a political party—is practiced by both major parties and is legal unless it is found to be racially motivated.
Critics argue that the process allows politicians to choose their constituents rather than voters choosing their elected officials.
The 2-1 decision in Texas directs the state to scrap the recently approved maps and instead use maps created in 2021 by the Texas Legislature.
“The public perception of this case is that it concerns politics,” U.S. Judge Jeffrey Brown, a Trump appointee, wrote in his decision.
“Of course, politics played a role in drawing up the 2025 Map. But there was much more to it than just politics. “Substantial evidence shows that Texas rigged Map 2025 on racial grounds.”
State House Democratic Leader Gene Woo praised the decision, saying in a statement that “a federal court just stopped one of the most brazen attempts to steal our democracy Texas has ever seen.”
“Greg Abbott and his Republican friends tried to silence Texans to appease Donald Trump, but now they have given him nothing,” Wu said.
Governor Abbott said in a statement that the decision was “clearly wrong and undermines the authority of the United States Constitution.”
“The Legislature redrew our congressional maps to better reflect the conservative voting preferences of Texans—and for no other reason,” Abbott said. “Any allegation that these cards are discriminatory is absurd and is not supported by the testimony given during the ten days of hearings.”
Maps approved in August by the Texas Legislature and endorsed by the state's Republican governor create five new Republican-leaning districts.
Earlier this month, California voted to redraw its own maps, creating five Democratic-leaning seats.
Earlier this month, a judge in Utah rejected an electoral map drawn up by Republican lawmakers and ordered a new one that would create one Democratic-leaning district in the state.
