🔗 Share this article Supreme Court Approves Revised Texas Congressional Electoral Boundaries. Via an per curiam decision, the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for Texas to implement a newly configured congressional map that could add several five new GOP-friendly districts. The 6-3 ruling, released on Thursday, upholds a petition by the state to overturn a district court's injunction that had invalidated the new map in November. Court's Reasoning The federal judge improperly inserted itself into an ongoing primary campaign, causing considerable confusion and disrupting the fine equilibrium in elections, the supreme court said in detailing its ruling. That lower court had previously found that Texas had probably classified voters according to their race – a act known as illegal race-based districting – when it enacted the boundaries. It had instructed the state to employ the districts drawn after the most recent national count for the next year's election. Strong Dissent In a forcefully written dissenting opinion, Justice Elena Kagan took issue with the court's action. She contended that it disregarded the work of the district court, pointing out that its decision was actually authored by a judge appointed by ex-President Donald Trump. We are a higher court than the district court, but we are not a better one when it comes to making such a fact-based decision, Kagan wrote in a dissent joined by Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson. She continued, This court's stay solidifies that Texas's new map, with all its increased partisan advantage, will dictate next year's elections. And it guarantees that many Texas voters, for no good reason, will be grouped in electoral districts based on their race. And that result, as this court has pronounced year in and year out, is a breach of the law of the land. National Map-Drawing Battle The court's action is part of a nationwide contest over the redistricting of electoral maps. Texas is a key piece in pushes to transform the U.S. House map to secure a fragile Republican control. Ordinarily, map-drawing happens after a new decade's census. Yet the action by Texas Republicans to proceed with a bold off-cycle redistricting earlier this year triggered a wave among other states. GOP lawmakers in states like North Carolina and Missouri have also approved new maps that could add several more GOP-friendly seats. The opposition, in response, have countered with their own plans in including California and Virginia, which could offset those projected gains. Political Responses The Texas top lawyer hailed the High Court's decision. In a statement, he said the order upheld Texas's prerogative to draw a map that guarantees representation aligned with the GOP. Our state is leading the charge to reclaim the nation, one district and one state at a time, he added. On the other hand, opposition party officials lamented the decision. It's incredibly disappointing that the Court has rubber stamped a map enacted by Texas Republicans which, simply put, is an extreme, racially gerrymandered map, said the chair of a major Democratic election organization. A senior Democratic figure stated the court had once again eroded its legitimacy by upholding a racially gerrymandered 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 added.