A map two courts said was racially gerrymandered can now be used in a Texas county after the Supreme Court did not intervene.
The court said the map in GOP-run Galveston County could be used, despite opponents' concerns that it was discriminatory against minority voters because it took away the only district dominated by Black and Latino voters.
In October, a District Court ruled the redrawn map was unlawful, violated the Voting Rights Act and ordered a new one should be created. A 5th Circuit Court of Appeals panel initially agreed, arguing the map was racially gerrymandered under Fifth Circuit precedent.
This ruling would have meant a different map will be used for the district. Later, the Fifth Circuit put its ruling on hold and is due to review it next year, two months after Texas' primary contest in March 2024.
The ruling was held due to an ongoing and countrywide dispute over voting maps and if voting coalitions—this can mean ethnic groups—are protected under the Voting Rights Act.
Three Black Galveston residents asked the Supreme Court to intervene, but the conservative majority decided not to. Three liberals on the court, including Justice Elena Kagan, dissented.
The decision not to intervene is a big win for Republicans, and similar stories have been springing up across the U.S.
Steve Vladeck, CNN Supreme Court analyst and professor at the University of Texas School of Law, told the news network that the case has "broader implications."
"The [Fifth Circuit] court of appeals justified letting the unlawful map stay in place in a way that will make it much harder, going forward, for plaintiffs in Louisiana, Mississippi, or Texas to persuade any federal judge to block an unlawful map except in very short windows after elections take place," he said.
In Florida, a congressional map was filed that was accused of weakening the power of Black voters. It helped the GOP maintain a slim majority in the House of Representatives, which it still holds today.
Leon County Circuit Judge J. Lee Marsh said in September that a suit against the map, approved by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, was correct. The map "results in the diminishment of Black voters' ability to elect their candidate of choice in violation of the Florida constitution," Judge Marsh wrote in a ruling.
An appellate court struck down the ruling and the case is expected to go to the Florida Supreme Court.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Benjamin Lynch is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is U.S. politics and national affairs and he ... Read more
