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Via an per curiam order, the highest judicial body has allowed Texas to use a revised congressional district plan that may create as many as five additional conservative-tilting districts. The 6-3 decision, released on Thursday, upholds a appeal by the state to overturn a lower court's injunction that had struck down the boundaries in November.

Court's Explanation

The federal judge erroneously placed itself into an ongoing primary campaign, generating much confusion and upsetting the delicate balance of power in elections, the justices wrote in explaining its action.

The district court had earlier ruled that Texas had probably grouped voters according to their race – a practice known as unconstitutional racial sorting – when it enacted the redistricting plan. It had mandated the state to employ the boundaries drawn after the last decennial survey for the upcoming election.

Stinging Opposition

Through a forcefully written dissent, Justice Elena Kagan took issue with the court's action. She argued that it disregarded the work of the district court, pointing out that its ruling was crafted by a judge selected by former 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 co-signed by Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson.

The justice went on, Today's ruling ensures that Texas's new map, with all its boosted favoritism, will govern next year's elections. And it means that many Texas voters, without justification, will be grouped in electoral districts based on their race. And that result, as this court has stated year in and year out, is a violation of the law of the land.

National Map-Drawing Fight

This decision comes amid a countrywide fight over the redrawing of electoral maps. Texas is an essential part in pushes to alter the U.S. House map to protect a fragile Republican hold. Ordinarily, redistricting happens after a ten-year survey. Yet the move by Texas Republicans to proceed with a bold off-cycle redistricting earlier this year set off a wave among other states.

Conservative legislators in states like North Carolina and Missouri have also enacted redistricting plans that are estimated to yield several more GOP-friendly seats. The opposition, meanwhile, have responded with new maps in states like California and Virginia, which could offset those potential gains.

Partisan Reactions

Lone Star State top lawyer hailed the supreme court ruling. In a release, he said the order protected Texas's basic authority to draw a map that guarantees representation favorable to the GOP. We are setting the precedent for restoring our country, through each electoral district and individual state, he added.

In contrast, opposition party officials decried the outcome. The Court's approval of this extreme, racially gerrymandered Texas GOP map is profoundly disappointing, said the chair of a major Democratic campaign committee.

Another leading House figure said the court had once again damaged its standing by upholding a discriminatory map. This decision from the Court's far-right bloc proves extremists are willing to rig elections. The Texas map is a discriminatory power grab targeting Black and Latino voters, he concluded.