In yet another irrational ruling, SCOTUS cleared the way yesterday for Texas lawmakers to use newly redrawn congressional maps favoring Republicans in the 2026 midterms. Via the New York Times:
The decision overturns, at least for now, a lower-court ruling that the new maps were likely an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. That decision had blocked lawmakers from using the maps in the midterms.
The Supreme Court’s order comes days before a Dec. 8 deadline for candidates to file to run for office in Texas. It marks a victory for Texas Republicans and for President Trump, who has pushed Republican-led states to revise their congressional maps to try to secure G.O.P. victories in the midterms.
The ruling also adds to the growing list of successes for the Trump administration before the justices, particularly on their emergency docket of cases heard without oral arguments, where the court’s orders are intended to be merely interim. Critics refer to it as the “shadow docket” and note the temporary decisions can have broad consequences.
Let’s recap. Once again, Sam Alito throws up his hands and claims the precedent of the Purcell principle in his silly decision, which stems from a 2006 case that concerned a change in Arizona photo ID laws “weeks away” from the election.
