Authored by Arjun Singh via The Epoch Times,

A panel of federal judges in Texas has ruled that the state cannot use newly redrawn House maps aimed at securing additional seats for Republicans.

“The public perception of this case is that it’s about politics. To be sure, politics played a role in drawing the 2025 Map. But it was much more than just politics. Substantial evidence shows that Texas racially gerrymandered the 2025 Map,” wrote U.S. District Judge Jeffrey V. Brown in the 2-1 ruling.

“The Plaintiff Groups are likely to prove at trial that Texas racially gerrymandered the 2025 Map. So, we preliminarily enjoin Texas’s 2025 Map.”

The decision marks a loss for Republicans who have been looking to gain a seat advantage in the House of Representatives, where they currently hold a slim majority.

Texas may appeal the decision directly to the Supreme Court of the United States, pursuant to the Voting Rights Act (VRA), which was cited in the ruling.

The preliminary injunction was ordered by a three-judge panel mandated by the VRA for such cases, which voted 2–1 in favor of granting it.