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Via an unsigned order, the U.S. Supreme Court has allowed Texas to use a newly configured congressional boundary scheme that may create up to five additional GOP-friendly districts. The six-to-three order, released on Thursday, upholds a appeal by the state to overturn a lower court's injunction that had rejected the redistricting plan in November.

Justices' Reasoning

The federal judge erroneously placed itself into an ongoing primary campaign, causing much confusion and disrupting the delicate federal-state balance in elections, the justices wrote in explaining its decision.

That lower court had determined that Texas had probably sorted voters based on their race – a practice known as illegal race-based districting – when it enacted the boundaries. It had instructed the state to use the districts created after the 2020 census for the forthcoming election.

Strong Dissenting Opinion

Through a strongly worded dissenting opinion, Justice Elena Kagan took issue with the court's decision. She stated that it disregarded the work of the lower court, pointing out that its opinion was written by a judge nominated by ex-President Donald Trump.

Our position is above the district court, but our capability is not greater for resolving such fact-driven issues, Kagan argued in a dissent joined by Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson.

She continued, Today's ruling ensures that Texas's new map, with all its increased political tilt, will govern next year's elections. And it means that many Texas citizens, without justification, will be placed in electoral districts due to their race. And that result, as this court has declared repeatedly, is a violation of the law of the land.

Countrywide Redistricting Battle

The ruling occurs during a countrywide battle over the remapping of electoral maps. Texas is a key piece in campaigns to alter the U.S. House map to bolster a fragile Republican majority. Ordinarily, map-drawing happens after a decennial population count. Yet the decision by Texas Republicans to initiate a bold mid-cycle redistricting earlier this year sparked a wave among other states.

Conservative legislators in including North Carolina and Missouri have also approved new maps that are estimated to yield a number of additional GOP-friendly seats. Democrats, for their part, have responded with their own plans in including California and Virginia, which are intended to balance those potential gains.

Partisan Responses

Lone Star State AG welcomed the supreme court ruling. In a release, he said the order defended Texas's prerogative to draw a map that ensures representation favorable to his party. We are setting the precedent for restoring our country, through each electoral district and individual state, he added.

On the other hand, Democratic representatives criticized the ruling. It is deeply disheartening that the Court has endorsed this severely racially gerrymandered plan from Texas Republicans, said the leader of a major party campaign committee.

Another senior Democratic figure stated the court had once again shredded its standing by approving a race-based map. The ruling demonstrates a willingness to subvert democracy. This Texas plan is a partisan, racially biased scheme to undermine voter will, especially in communities of color, he stated.