Timeline of Republican efforts to control redistricting and gerrymandering, from the origin of the term "gerrymander" to modern mid-decade redistricting efforts. Covers key Supreme Court cases, state-level actions, and the coordinated strategy to gain electoral advantage through map manipulation.
Feb 11, 1812Main
Massachusetts Governor Elbridge Gerry signs salamander-shaped district map that creates gerrymandering
Massachusetts Governor Elbridge Gerry signs a state senate redistricting bill that redraws Essex County into a bizarrely elongated district designed to concentrate Federalist voters and protect Democratic-Republican incumbents. The Boston Gazette publishes a political cartoon depicting the district as a salamander and coins the portmanteau "Gerrymander." The practice, which involves concentrating opposing voters (packing) or spreading them thin across many districts (cracking), is now named after the governor who institutionalized it in Massachusetts.
Mar 26, 1962Main
SCOTUS rules 6-2 in Baker v. Carr that redistricting claims are justiciable under 14th Amendment
The Supreme Court rules 6-2 in Baker v. Carr that federal courts have jurisdiction to hear challenges to state legislative apportionment under the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause. Charles Baker, a Shelby County, Tennessee resident, had sued because Tennessee had not redistricted since 1901 despite massive population shifts, leaving rural districts with a fraction of the voters of urban districts. Chief Justice Earl Warren later called Baker the most important case of his tenure, as it unlocked a nationwide wave of redistricting litigation.
Mar 7, 1965Main
Alabama state troopers attack Selma voting rights marchers on Bloody Sunday
Alabama State Troopers and Sheriff Jim Clark's deputies attacked 600 civil rights marchers on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, using clubs and tear gas to stop a peaceful voting rights march to Montgomery. Co-led by SCLC's Hosea Williams and SNCC's John Lewis, the march was halted by direct order of Governor George Wallace. Fifty-eight marchers were hospitalized; ABC News interrupted its broadcast of Judgment at Nuremberg that evening to air 15 minutes of footage, bringing the violence into tens of millions of American homes.
Aug 6, 1965Main
Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act of 1965 into law
President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act at the Capitol Rotunda, with Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., and congressional leaders present. Section 5 of the Act required nine Southern states — including Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Virginia — to obtain advance approval from the U.S. Department of Justice or a federal court before changing any voting law or procedure. Within three years, Black voter registration in the covered states had roughly doubled, and federal examiners registered more than 300,000 new voters in the first year alone.
Apr 22, 1980Main
Mobile v. Bolden: Supreme Court Guts VRA Section 2 with Intent Standard
The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that the Voting Rights Act's Section 2 required plaintiffs to prove discriminatory intent, not merely discriminatory results, when challenging at-large election systems that diluted minority voting power. Justice Potter Stewart wrote the plurality opinion; Justice Thurgood Marshall dissented sharply, warning that the ruling would make it nearly impossible to challenge voting systems that excluded Black voters in practice. The case arose from Mobile, Alabama, where an at-large city commission structure had never elected a Black member despite a 35% Black population.
Jun 29, 1982Main
Congress Restores VRA Section 2 Results Test After Mobile v. Bolden
Congress passed a bipartisan amendment to the Voting Rights Act restoring the "results test" for Section 2 claims, overturning the intent standard the Supreme Court had imposed in Mobile v. Bolden two years earlier. The Senate passed the amendment 85-8 and the House 389-24, sending an unambiguous message that Congress intended Section 2 to reach voting practices with discriminatory effects, not just those proven to have discriminatory purpose. President Reagan signed the bill despite personal reservations about the results standard, under pressure from Senate Republicans including Robert Dole.
Jun 30, 1986Main
SCOTUS rules in Thornburg v. Gingles that racial vote dilution through multimember districts violates Section 2 of VRA
The Supreme Court rules unanimously in Thornburg v. Gingles that North Carolina's use of multimember legislative districts dilutes Black voting power in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act as amended in 1982. Justice William Brennan writes the majority opinion establishing a three-part test, now the "Gingles test," for evaluating vote dilution claims under Section 2. The decision becomes the foundational standard for racial gerrymandering litigation under the VRA for the next four decades.
Jun 30, 1986Main
Supreme Court establishes three-part Gingles test for Section 2 redistricting claims
The Supreme Court issues its landmark ruling in Thornburg v. Gingles on June 30, 1986, establishing the three-part test that governs all Section 2 vote-dilution redistricting challenges for the next 40 years. Justice William Brennan writes that a minority group can prove vote dilution under Section 2 if it shows: (1) the group is large enough and geographically compact to form a majority in a single district; (2) the group is politically cohesive; and (3) the white majority typically votes as a bloc to defeat the minority's preferred candidate. The ruling strikes down North Carolina's multimember legislative districts for diluting Black voting power and creates the legal framework that will require dozens of states to draw majority-minority districts in the 1990 redistricting cycle.
Jun 30, 1986Main
Thornburg v. Gingles establishes a three-part test for minority vote dilution
The Supreme Court unanimously adopted a three-factor framework — the Gingles preconditions — for determining when multimember or at-large election districts illegally dilute minority voting power under amended Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Justice William Brennan wrote for the Court, requiring plaintiffs to show the minority group is sufficiently large and geographically compact, politically cohesive, and faces majority bloc voting that usually defeats its preferred candidates. The case arose from North Carolina legislative districts and governed redistricting litigation for nearly four decades until Louisiana v. Callais.
Jun 28, 1993Main
Supreme Court warns against racial gerrymandering in Shaw v. Reno
The Supreme Court rules in Shaw v. Reno on June 28, 1993, allowing white voters to challenge North Carolina's unusually shaped majority-Black congressional district as a racial gerrymander.
The Court does not strike down the district immediately, but it says race-dominant districting can violate equal protection even when designed to improve minority representation. The ruling complicates the relationship between the Voting Rights Act and racial-gerrymandering doctrine. The decision creates a new constitutional path for challenging districts drawn to increase Black electoral opportunity.
Jun 28, 1993Main
SCOTUS rules in Shaw v. Reno that bizarrely shaped racial districts trigger strict scrutiny
The Supreme Court rules 5-4 in Shaw v. Reno that North Carolina voters can challenge a congressional district whose shape is so bizarre it can only be explained on racial grounds. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor writes for the majority that drawing districts predominantly by race, even to benefit minority voters, violates the Equal Protection Clause. The ruling subjects majority-minority districts to strict judicial scrutiny and sets off a decade of litigation over race-conscious redistricting across the South.
Nov 2, 2010Main
Republicans flip 680 state legislative seats seizing redistricting control ahead of 2010 Census
Republicans gain approximately 680 state legislative seats in the 2010 midterm elections, the largest state-level shift since 1928, following a coordinated strategy called REDMAP (Redistricting Majority Project), run by the Republican State Leadership Committee. The RSLC spends $30 million targeting 107 competitive state legislative races in swing states including Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Ohio, Michigan, and North Carolina. By winning control of 20 states before redistricting from the 2010 Census, Republicans position themselves to draw congressional and legislative maps for the entire decade.
Nov 2, 2010Main
Florida voters approve the Fair Districts amendments banning partisan gerrymandering
Florida voters approved Amendments 5 and 6 — the Fair Districts Amendments — on November 2, 2010, with 63 percent of the vote, writing anti-gerrymandering standards directly into the Florida Constitution. The amendments banned the legislature from drawing congressional and state legislative maps that favor or disfavor a political party or incumbent, and required maps to follow county and city boundaries. The Republican-controlled Florida Legislature was the primary target, having drawn every redistricting map since 1992 to protect incumbent and partisan advantage.
SCOTUS strikes down Voting Rights Act Section 4 formula in Shelby County v. Holder
The Supreme Court rules 5-4 in Shelby County v. Holder (570 U.S. 529, 2013) that Section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the formula used to determine which states and localities must get federal preclearance before changing voting laws, is unconstitutional. Chief Justice Roberts writes that it relies on 40-year-old data. The decision effectively disables Section 5 preclearance, freeing Texas, North Carolina, and other states to immediately pass voter ID laws and redistricting plans without DOJ approval.
Jun 25, 2013Main
Shelby County v. Holder Strikes Down VRA Section 5 Coverage Formula
The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that Section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act — the formula determining which states required federal preclearance for voting changes — was unconstitutional because it relied on 40-year-old data. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority; Justice Ginsburg dissented sharply. The ruling left Section 5 technically intact but inoperable, since no valid coverage formula remained. Within 24 hours, Texas announced implementation of its blocked voter ID law, North Carolina enacted sweeping voting restrictions, and Alabama announced its photo ID requirement.
Jun 27, 2019Main
SCOTUS rules 5-4 in Rucho v. Common Cause federal courts cannot hear partisan gerrymandering claims
The Supreme Court rules 5-4 in Rucho v. Common Cause (consolidated with Lamone v. Benisek) that partisan gerrymandering claims present political questions beyond federal court jurisdiction. Chief Justice John Roberts writes for the majority, closing the federal courthouse door to challenges against maps drawn for partisan advantage. Justice Elena Kagan's dissent, joined by three liberals, calls the ruling a "tragedy for democracy." The ruling leaves partisan gerrymandering regulation entirely to state courts and legislatures, while racial gerrymandering challenges remain available in federal court.
Nov 5, 2019Main
Virginia Democrats win legislature, breaking GOP redistricting control
Virginia Democrats flipped both chambers of the General Assembly in the November 2019 elections, winning 55 of 100 House seats and 21 of 40 Senate seats. Governor Ralph Northam gave the party a full trifecta heading into the 2020 Census redistricting cycle. Republicans had controlled at least one chamber since 2000 and drawn maps in 2011 that federal courts later struck down as racial gerrymanders.
Virginia voters approve Amendment 1 creating bipartisan redistricting commission
Virginia voters approved Amendment 1 on November 3, 2020, amending the state constitution to create a 16-member Virginia Redistricting Commission with equal representation from Democrats and Republicans and eight citizen members. The measure passed with 65.69% of the vote, carrying every county and independent city except Arlington. The amendment required maps to win a bipartisan supermajority before taking effect, replacing the General Assembly as the sole mapmaker.
Senate Republicans filibuster For the People Act, blocking sweeping voting rights expansion
Senate Republicans filibuster S.1, the For the People Act, on a 50-50 vote that falls 10 short of the 60 needed to break a filibuster. The bill would have created automatic voter registration, established independent redistricting commissions in all states, set new standards for campaign finance disclosure, and restored voting rights to people who have completed their sentences. Manchin and Sinema also oppose eliminating the filibuster to pass voting rights legislation, leaving the bill dead. The failure is a major defeat for Biden and voting rights advocates who had rallied around the legislation as a response to Republican state-level restrictions post-Shelby County.
Jun 22, 2021Main
Republicans filibuster For the People Act, blocking most sweeping voting rights expansion since 1965
Senate Republicans filibuster the For the People Act (S.1), blocking the most comprehensive voting rights and anti-corruption legislation since the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The bill passes the House 220-210 strictly along party lines. The Senate vote is 50-50, failing to reach the 60-vote threshold to overcome the filibuster. The bill would have established automatic voter registration nationwide, guaranteed early voting and vote-by-mail access, created independent redistricting commissions to end gerrymandering, required disclosure of "dark money" political donations, and established public financing of campaigns. Biden calls it "a landmark piece of legislation to protect the right to vote, end dark money, and reduce the influence of special interests." Senators Manchin and Sinema also decline to support eliminating the filibuster to pass it.
Sep 9, 2021Main
Justice Department sues Texas over redistricting maps that dilute minority votes
The Justice Department sues Texas on December 6, 2021, challenging the state's congressional and legislative redistricting plans under the Voting Rights Act. The department alleges that the maps dilute the voting strength of Latino and Black voters despite the state's growth being driven by communities of color.
Texas officials defend the maps and deny unlawful discrimination. The lawsuit follows the first redistricting cycle after the 2020 census and after Shelby County removed preclearance for Texas. The case tests whether Section 2 can address racial vote dilution when fast-growing communities of color are denied corresponding electoral power.
Oct 25, 2021Main
Virginia Redistricting Commission deadlocks, surrenders mapmaking to Supreme Court
The Virginia Redistricting Commission failed to approve any maps by its October 25, 2021 deadline after partisan divisions prevented the 16-member body from agreeing on a starting point for either congressional or state legislative districts. Democratic citizen members Greta Harris, James Abrenio, and Brandon Hutchins walked out of a key session in October. Under Article II, Section 6-A of the Virginia Constitution, the commission formally passed authority to the Supreme Court of Virginia to draw the maps.
Virginia Supreme Court adopts nonpartisan congressional maps via special masters
The Supreme Court of Virginia unanimously adopted new congressional and state legislative maps on December 28, 2021, drawn by court-appointed special masters Bernard Grofman of UC Irvine and Sean Trende of RealClearPolitics. The maps, which respected city and county boundaries and were widely described as nonpartisan, produced an 11-district congressional delegation expected to favor Democrats 6-5. The districts took effect for the 2022 elections and remained governing law through 2026.
Federal court blocks Alabama congressional map under Voting Rights Act
A three-judge federal district court blocks Alabama's congressional map on January 24, 2022, finding that plaintiffs are substantially likely to prove a Section 2 Voting Rights Act violation. The court says Alabama should create a second district where Black voters have an opportunity to elect candidates of their choice.
The Supreme Court later stays the order for the 2022 elections, but the case returns as Allen v. Milligan. The litigation becomes a major test of whether Section 2 still protects minority voters in redistricting. The case begins the modern Alabama redistricting fight that leads to a major Supreme Court voting-rights ruling in 2023.
Mar 30, 2022Main
Justice Department sues Galveston County over map eliminating Black-Latino district
The Justice Department sues Galveston County, Texas, on March 24, 2022, alleging that the county's redistricting plan violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. The department says the plan dismantles the county's only precinct where Black and Latino voters together had an opportunity to elect their preferred candidate.
County officials defend the map and argue that coalition districts are not protected in the way the department claims. The case later becomes a major test for multiracial coalition voting-rights claims. Local redistricting can weaken Black and Latino political power after the 2020 census.
Apr 22, 2022Main
DeSantis signs a congressional map eliminating Florida's only majority-Black district
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a congressional redistricting map on April 22, 2022, that split Black voters in Jacksonville across three separate districts, reducing Black voting-age population in each from over 45 percent to below 35 percent and eliminating the only majority-Black congressional district in northern Florida. DeSantis had vetoed the Florida Legislature's own map — drawn to comply with the voter-approved Fair Districts Amendment — and submitted a replacement drawn by his own staff with assistance from national Republican redistricting operatives. The move eliminated US Representative Al Lawson's seat, ending three decades of Black congressional representation in northeast Florida that began with Corrine Brown's 1992 election.
Supreme Court orders Alabama to draw second Black-majority congressional district in Allen v. Milligan
The Supreme Court rules 5-4 in Allen v. Milligan on June 08, 2023, ordering Alabama to redraw its congressional map to include a second district giving Black voters meaningful representation. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh join the three liberal justices to uphold the lower court's finding that Alabama's 2021 congressional map — which packed most of the state's Black population into a single district — violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. The ruling is widely seen as a temporary reprieve for Section 2 redistricting claims. Alabama refuses to comply with the ruling and draws a second map that still fails to create a majority-Black district, triggering further court orders.
May 23, 2024Main
Supreme Court rejects South Carolina racial gerrymandering challenge in Alexander
The Supreme Court rules in Alexander v. South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP on May 23, 2024, that challengers did not prove South Carolina lawmakers used race as the dominant reason for drawing a congressional district.
The majority says courts must carefully distinguish race from party when evaluating redistricting claims. Justice Elena Kagan dissents, arguing that the decision stacks the deck against racial gerrymandering plaintiffs. The ruling makes some racial gerrymandering claims harder to prove when lawmakers can describe their goals as partisan rather than racial.
May 23, 2024Main
Supreme Court rejects South Carolina racial gerrymandering challenge
The Supreme Court rules in Alexander v. South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP on May 23, 2024, that challengers did not prove South Carolina lawmakers used race as the dominant reason for drawing a congressional district. Justice Samuel Alito writes the majority opinion, and Justice Elena Kagan dissents.\n\nThe dispute centered on whether the state moved Black voters out of a congressional district to protect a Republican seat or whether the map was mainly partisan. The Court says federal courts must presume good faith by state legislatures and cannot treat evidence of partisan goals as proof of racial gerrymandering without stronger evidence.\n\nThe ruling matters because race and party often overlap in Southern redistricting. It makes some racial gerrymandering challenges harder to prove when lawmakers can describe the map as partisan rather than racial.
Jan 15, 2025Main
VP JD Vance co-founded the Rockbridge Network, a $75M secret donor club that steers eight political groups and placed members throughout Trump's cabinet
Rockbridge Network operates a "Red State Project" hiring staff across red states to coordinate conservative groups from school boards to state legislatures, with internal documents showing successful influence on congressional redistricting. The network creates centralized command structures that turn local elections into extensions of national billionaire political strategies.
President Trump urges Texas Republican leaders to redraw the state's congressional map mid-decade, between census years, to extend Republican dominance before the 2026 midterms. Texas Republicans begin the process, using the Rucho v. Common Cause ruling as cover that federal courts cannot block partisan gerrymandering. California Governor Gavin Newsom and several Democratic governors announce they will consider retaliatory mid-decade redistricting to offset Republican gains, triggering what analysts call the most aggressive mid-decade gerrymander cycle in modern history.
Jun 1, 2025Main
Abbott adds mid-decade redistricting to special session at Trump request
Texas Governor Greg Abbott adds mid-decade redistricting to a special session agenda at President Donald Trump's request.
The result is a new Texas congressional map targeting five additional Republican seats, marking the opening move of the 2025-26 redistricting wave.
Jun 15, 2025Main
Texas Legislature passes mid-decade congressional redistricting map at Trump request
The Texas Legislature passes a new congressional map in June 2025 at the explicit request of President Donald Trump, who posts on Truth Social calling on Republican-controlled state legislatures to redraw congressional maps mid-decade to gain House seats ahead of the 2026 midterms. The Texas map, designed to eliminate or make more competitive seats held by Democrats, marks the first major mid-decade congressional redistricting in modern history initiated by a sitting president. Gov. Greg Abbott signs the map into law. The move triggers Democratic-led states including California and Virginia to announce countermeasures, launching a nationwide mid-decade redistricting war.
Aug 7, 2025Main
Vance presses Indiana Gov. Braun for a mid-decade redistricting
Vice President JD Vance met with Indiana Gov. Mike Braun and Republican state legislators in Indianapolis on Aug. 7, 2025, to press for a mid-decade state legislative redistricting. Indiana had already redistricted following the 2020 census; Vance's push for a second redistricting before the next census—a practice being advanced in several Republican-controlled states—faced significant legal challenges and required new state legislation to proceed.
Aug 13, 2025Main
63 members of Congress quit in modern record exodus as toxic partisanship accelerates
As of February 2026, 63 sitting members of Congress — 51 House members and 12 senators — will not return, setting a modern record. Brookings Institution data back to 1930 ranks this the second-largest congressional exodus in roughly a century; the record was 1992, when 72 members left amid a check-bouncing scandal. The departures span both parties: Nancy Pelosi, 85, declined a 21st term; Steny Hoyer retired after 45 years; Mitch McConnell, Joni Ernst, and Thom Tillis also stepped aside. Three sitting senators — Blackburn, Tuberville, and Bennet — left to run for governor. Members cite overlapping causes: a toxic partisan atmosphere, mid-decade gerrymandering across six states that reshuffled once-safe districts, and a fundraising culture instructing members to spend four hours daily on donor calls versus two on legislative work. Senior committee chairs carry procedural knowledge that new members take years to acquire — when they leave, institutional oversight capacity leaves with them. Thirty open Republican and 21 open Democratic seats will largely decide which party controls the House after 2026.
California retaliates with emergency redistricting plan
Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation Aug. 21, 2025, authorizing a Nov. 4 special election where California voters can approve partisan congressional maps targeting five Republican House seats in direct response to Texas Republicans' Trump-endorsed redistricting designed to flip five Democratic seats. The Election Rigging Response Act escalates the first coordinated interstate gerrymandering war since Reconstruction.
Missouri's Republican-controlled legislature enacts a new congressional map as part of the Trump-coordinated mid-decade redistricting wave, eliminating a majority-Black Democratic-held seat that was not protected by Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. The new map is one of three early GOP gerrymanders — alongside Texas (2025) and North Carolina (October 2025) — that together add approximately nine Republican-leaning seats before the 2026 midterms.
The Missouri map faces a veto referendum scheduled for the November 2026 ballot and multiple lawsuits. Democrats and voting rights groups argue the map deliberately cracks Black communities to dilute their political power.
The redistricting follows direct pressure from President Trump, who pushed GOP-controlled states to redraw maps to preserve the party's narrow House majority. A subsequent analysis by Fair Fight Action and Black Voters Matter finds that the 2025–26 GOP redistricting wave could ultimately yield 27 additional safe Republican seats, with 19 tied directly to the dismantling of VRA protections.
Missouri Gov. Mike Braun signs a new congressional map on September 28, 2025, following a special session called by Gov. Mike Kehoe in August at the request of the Trump administration. The new map redraws the Kansas City-based district currently held by Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, placing the congressman into a significantly more Republican-leaning district. Vice President JD Vance visited Missouri legislators in the weeks before the session to lobby for the redistricting effort. The map faces multiple lawsuits and a citizens' initiative ballot measure that could suspend its implementation before the 2026 elections.
Oct 8, 2025Main
Vance lobbies Indiana Senate Republicans on stalled redistricting
Vice President JD Vance traveled to Indianapolis on Oct. 8, 2025, to meet with Indiana Senate Republicans amid a stalled state legislative redistricting push. The trip was unusual for a sitting vice president; Vance's involvement in Indiana state-level redistricting reflected both his ties to his home state's Republican caucus and the national party's interest in maximizing safe Republican congressional districts ahead of the 2026 elections.
Oct 15, 2025Main
Supreme Court hears Louisiana v. Callais challenging second Black-majority congressional district
The Supreme Court hears oral arguments on October 15, 2025, in Louisiana v. Callais, a case challenging the second majority-Black congressional district Louisiana drew in 2024 after a federal court ordered the state to remedy a Section 2 violation. Republican plaintiffs argue the redrawn map is an unconstitutional racial gerrymander under Shaw v. Reno (1993), which prohibits using race as the predominant factor in drawing districts. The case places Section 2 compliance and the racial gerrymandering doctrine in direct conflict. The Court heard the case under the shadow of Brnovich, and conservative justices' questions suggest skepticism toward the idea that Section 2 can ever justify a majority-minority district.
Oct 15, 2025Main
Supreme Court's 2025-26 term takes up redistricting, party spending limits, and mail ballot deadlines
The Supreme Court's 2025-26 term consolidated three election law cases with the potential to collectively reshape how congressional districts are drawn, how much political parties can spend coordinating with candidates, and whether states can count mail ballots received after Election Day. Louisiana v. Callais, reargued Oct. 15, 2025, asks whether Louisiana's court-ordered second majority-Black congressional district violates the 14th or 15th Amendments — a ruling that could gut the Section 2 vote-dilution remedy the Court upheld in Allen v. Milligan just two years prior. National Republican Senatorial Committee v. FEC challenges caps on coordinated party-candidate spending as a First Amendment violation; a win for the NRSC would allow parties to pour unlimited money into individual races. Bost v. Illinois State Board of Elections tests whether federal candidates have Article III standing to sue over Illinois' law counting mail ballots received up to 14 days after Election Day if postmarked by Election Day. Together, the three cases give the 6-3 conservative Court the opportunity to restructure the rules governing who votes, how parties fund campaigns, and whose ballots count.
In Louisiana v. Callais reargued on Oct. 15, 2025, the Supreme Court's conservative majority questioned whether Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 requires states to create majority-minority congressional districts or merely prohibits intentional racial discrimination in maps. Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch pressed that Section 2 imposes unconstitutional racial quotas, and Justice Brett Kavanaugh proposed that race-based remedies should expire over time. Liberal justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan warned that significantly narrowing Section 2 would dismantle a critical tool for preventing minority vote dilution. If the Court rules to limit Section 2, Republican-controlled legislatures could redraw maps to dilute minority voting strength, potentially shifting up to 19 House seats toward the GOP. A decision by Jun. 2026 would shape redistricting ahead of the 2026 midterms.
North Carolina GOP enacts mid-decade congressional gerrymander adding Republican-leaning seat
North Carolina's Republican-controlled legislature passes a new congressional map as part of the Trump-coordinated mid-decade redistricting wave, targeting one additional Republican-leaning seat ahead of the 2026 midterms. The map is part of the opening wave of Republican gerrymanders — alongside Texas (2025) and Missouri (September 2025) — that collectively add approximately nine Republican seats before November 2026.
The redistricting is coordinated through the National Republican Redistricting Trust, whose executive director Adam Kincaid worked with Trump adviser James Blair to design the strategy before Trump's inauguration.
A Brennan Center for Justice analysis characterizes the 2025–26 actions as a renewal of the 2010 \"REDMAP\" mid-decade gerrymander strategy, now accelerated by the VRA's weakening. Democratic-led California responds in August 2025 with its own constitutional amendment to redraw five Republican-held districts, triggering a national tit-for-tat redistricting battle.
Oct 31, 2025Main
Virginia Democrats pass redistricting amendment on party-line vote, triggering procedural dispute
The Virginia General Assembly passed a constitutional amendment on October 31, 2025 to allow the legislature to temporarily draw new congressional districts, with House Majority Leader Charniele Herring leading the effort. The Senate voted 21-16 on party lines to approve the amendment, following a contentious House vote of 51-42 on October 29. Republicans immediately challenged the vote as unconstitutional, arguing Democrats had initiated the first vote after early voting for the November 2025 general election had already begun, violating the required intervening-election rule.
California voters approve Proposition 50 giving legislature power to draw new congressional maps
California voters approve Proposition 50 on November 4, 2025, a ballot measure backed by Gov. Gavin Newsom that temporarily shifts congressional redistricting authority from the state's independent commission back to the Democratic-controlled legislature. Newsom announces the initiative in July 2025 after Trump's call for Republican-led redistricting with a tweet: "Two can play that game." The new maps, drawn by the legislature after the ballot measure passes, are designed to add up to five Democratic House seats by reconfiguring suburban and Central Valley districts. Republican challengers immediately file suit but federal courts decline to block the maps before the 2026 election.
Election Day on Nov. 4, 2025, was the first nationwide off‑year test since President Trump returned to the White House in Jan. 2025. High‑profile contests included the Virginia and New Jersey gubernatorial races, the New York City mayoral contest and California Proposition 50 on congressional redistricting. The votes took place amid an ongoing federal government shutdown that had lasted into early Nov. and that left many federal workers without pay and disrupted benefits programs.
Trump attacks California Proposition 50 while pushing Texas Republicans to redraw districts
President Trump wrote on Truth Social on Nov. 4, 2025, that California Proposition 50 should be under a "very serious legal and criminal review." White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Nov. 4 that the White House was "looking into" executive action and said the administration was working on an executive order related to election integrity — comments framed as a response to the special-election vote. Proposition 50 would temporarily shift power to redraw congressional districts to the California Legislature, producing a map that many analysts describe as favorable to Democrats and adopted amid a national fight over mid-decade redistricting after Republican-led maps in Texas. California Governor Gavin Newsom and Secretary of State Shirley Weber rejected the president's fraud claims; Weber called the allegation "another baseless claim" and urged Californians to vote.
DOJ sues California over Prop 50 redistricting map while Texas and Florida Republican gerrymanders go unchallenged
On November 4, 2025, California voters approved Proposition 50 — officially the Election Rigging Response Act — by a 64.4% margin, authorizing the Democratic-controlled legislature to replace the state's independent commission map with new congressional lines favoring Democrats. Nine days later, on November 13, Attorney General Pam Bondi's Justice Department filed suit against Governor Gavin Newsom and Secretary of State Shirley Weber, calling the map "a brazen power grab that tramples on civil rights." DOJ argued the legislature used Latino demographics as the primary factor when drawing new districts, violating the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause. The new map, drawn by Democratic redistricting expert Paul Mitchell and submitted by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, puts five Republican incumbents into more Democratic districts across Southern California, the Central Valley, and Northern California. DOJ joined an existing Republican-led lawsuit and asked courts to block the map before the 2026 midterms. Critics pointed to DOJ's silence on Republican-drawn maps in Texas and Florida — the very Texas map Newsom cited as justification for Prop 50 in the first place. On January 14, 2026, a federal district court upheld California's map 2-1. On February 4, the Supreme Court denied the Republican and DOJ appeal without comment or dissent, clearing the map for the 2026 midterms.
Indiana Senate leader blocks redistricting special session, citing lack of Republican votes
Indiana Senate leader Rodric Bray announces on November 14, 2025, that there are not enough Republican votes to move forward with a congressional redistricting special session called by Gov. Mike Braun in October 2025 at the Trump administration's request. Vice President JD Vance had visited Indiana legislators in the weeks prior to lobby for the redistricting effort. The failure is the first notable setback in Trump's mid-decade redistricting push and demonstrates that not all Republican state legislators are willing to use their supermajorities for the effort. Trump-backed challengers later defeat five of seven Indiana state lawmakers who refused to support redistricting in the May 2026 Republican primary, illustrating the consequences of resistance.
Nov 18, 2025Main
Federal court blocks Texas redistricting as racial gerrymandering, orders 2021 maps for 2026
On Nov. 18, 2025, a three-judge federal panel blocked Texas's 2025 congressional redistricting, ruling the maps were "racially gerrymandered" and ordered the state to use 2021 maps for 2026 midterm elections. The court found evidence Texas used race, not just politics, to dilute minority voting power. Texas immediately appealed to the Supreme Court. In December 2025, the Supreme Court stayed the lower court ruling and allowed Texas to use the 2025 map for the 2026 elections.
North Carolina, Missouri, Florida file new maps. Virginia, Maryland consider
Republican-led North Carolina, Missouri, and Texas passed new congressional maps in 2025 targeting Democratic seats, while Florida's legislature created a redistricting committee in Aug. 2025 to draw new maps. North Carolina Republicans approved a map in Oct. 2025 that received the green light from a panel of federal judges a month later. Missouri passed a map in Sep. 2025, signed by Republican Governor Mike Kehoe, transforming Democrat Emanuel Cleaver's Kansas City district from 62% Democratic to 41% Democratic. Texas passed its map in summer 2025, with Republicans favored to win 4-5 seats. Democratic-led Virginia and Maryland are exploring counter-redistricting.
California Democrats respond with map targeting 5 Republican districts
California voters approved Proposition 50 on Nov. 4, 2025, authorizing new congressional district maps that target five Republican-held seats. The Democratic-led state Legislature put Prop 50 on the ballot as a direct response to Texas Republicans' mid-decade redistricting in Aug. 2025. Prop 50 implements maps designed to make five Republican districts more Democratic-leaning for the 2026 midterm elections.
Republican Matt Van Epps defeats Democrat Aftyn Behn 54%-45% in Tennessee's 7th District special election
Matt Van Epps beat Aftyn Behn 53.9% to 45.1% in Tennessee's 7th District special election on Dec. 2, 2025. He kept the seat Mark Green vacated. But the 8-point margin was way closer than expected. Trump won this district by 22 points in 2024. Van Epps only won by 8. That's a 14-point swing toward Democrats. Trump's MAGA Inc. super PAC spent $1.6 million. Speaker Mike Johnson campaigned there. Outside groups poured in $6.5 million total. The district got competitive after Tennessee's 2021 redistricting cracked Nashville across three districts. That diluted Democratic votes. The partisan lean dropped from R+34 to R+10.
Supreme Court lets Texas use racially challenged map for 2026
On Dec. 4, 2025, the Supreme Court lifted a lower court's injunction blocking Texas's Republican-drawn congressional map, ruling that the state could use it for the 2026 midterm elections. A federal district court had found the map violated voting rights law through race-based gerrymandering that packed Black and Hispanic voters into safe Democratic districts while diluting their power elsewhere. The Supreme Court's emergency intervention overturned that ruling with minimal explanation. The map is projected to flip 5 House seats from Democratic to Republican by shifting district lines to favor GOP candidates. The timing—lifting the block days before the Dec. 8 candidate filing deadline—prevented legal challenge through 2026 elections.
Trump threatens to primary 21 Indiana GOP over redistricting
Trump led a weeks-long pressure campaign against Indiana Senate Republicans, threatening to back primary opponents against those who opposed his redistricting push. Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Republican allies warned that senators who didn't approve a new congressional map would face primary challengers in 2026 and 2028. Trump posted repeatedly on social media, naming individual senators and threatening to support their opponents.
The redistricting effort aimed to dismantle Indiana's two Democratic-controlled districts and potentially gain two additional Republican seats in the U.S. House. The proposed maps would have carved up districts held by Democratic Reps. André Carson in Indianapolis and Frank Mrvan in the area along Lake Michigan near Chicago. Indiana House Republicans passed the bill, sending it to the Senate for final approval.
After the Senate voted 31-19 to reject the redistricting plan on December 11, 2025, Trump singled out Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray for retaliation. Trump said, "I'm sure that whenever his primary is—it's, I think, in two years—but I'm sure he'll go down. I'll certainly support anybody that wants to go against him." The threat marked a rare instance of Trump targeting Republican officials in a deep red state for refusing to follow his demands.
Twenty-one Republican senators joined all 10 Democrats to block the redistricting bill despite Trump's threats. The bipartisan rejection came from deep concerns about mid-decade gerrymandering and threats to legislative independence. Senate Republicans told CNN their decision was driven by deeply personal reasons, including concerns about fairness, precedent, and not being bullied by outside pressure.
Indiana became the first Republican-led state legislature to vote down Trump's wish to squeeze out more GOP-friendly congressional seats. The Senate's rejection dealt a rare rebuke to Trump's political power in a state he won by 18 percentage points in 2024.
Indiana House passes Trump-backed Republican congressional map
The Indiana House of Representatives passed a Trump-backed Republican congressional map on Dec. 5, 2025, by a vote of 57-41, designed to flip the state's two Democratic seats to GOP control, creating a 9-0 all-Republican delegation. The map targets Democrat Frank Mrvan's 1st District (northwestern Indiana) and Democrat André Carson's 7th District (Indianapolis/Marion County) by splitting Indianapolis into four majority-White districts and dispersing Democratic-leaning northwestern areas into surrounding rural Republican districts. The bill now faces an uncertain vote in the state Senate, where at least 10 Republican senators publicly oppose the mid-decade redistricting despite intense pressure from Trump and allies. President Trump and groups like Turning Point Action have threatened prima
Democrat Eric Gisler flips Georgia seat Trump won by 12
Democrat Eric Gisler defeated Republican Mack "Dutch" Guest 50.85%-49.15% on December 9, 2025, in Georgia's House District 121 special election. Gisler flipped a seat Trump won by 12 percentage points in 2024, delivering a stunning 12-point swing toward Democrats in just one year. He won by less than 200 votes out of thousands cast.
Gisler, who owns a local olive oil store and works in tech, lost the same seat to Republican Marcus Wiedower 61%-39% in 2024. That makes his 2025 victory a 22-point reversal. Wiedower abruptly resigned in October 2025 to focus on his real estate firm role, creating an unexpected Democratic opportunity in a seat Republicans gerrymandered to remain safely red.
The district straddles two counties with starkly different politics. Gisler secured 82% in the Clarke County portion, which includes Athens and the University of Georgia. Guest took 64% in the Republican stronghold of Oconee County. Turnout patterns and geographic divisions determined the outcome.
The flip came one month after Democrats won two statewide elections to unseat incumbent Republicans on Georgia's Public Service Commission in November 2025. Those victories were driven by discontent over rising electricity costs. Gisler made affordability his central focus, criticizing Guest for "tired MAGA talking points" while emphasizing healthcare access and cost of living.
With this victory, Democrats won or overperformed in 225 out of 253 key and special elections in 2025, nearly 90% of all races. DNC Chair Ken Martin celebrated the win as proof of Democratic momentum heading into 2026 midterms.
Indiana Senate rejects Trump redistricting as 21 GOP defect
The Republican-dominated Indiana Senate voted 31-19 on Dec. 11, 2025, to reject Trump's push to redraw the state's congressional maps. Twenty-one Republican senators joined all 10 Democrats to block the redistricting plan. Indiana became the first Republican-led state legislature to vote down Trump's demand for more GOP-friendly congressional seats.
The proposed maps were crafted to produce a 9-0 Republican delegation by carving up the districts currently held by Democratic Reps. André Carson in Indianapolis and Frank Mrvan in the area along Lake Michigan near Chicago. The Indiana House had already passed the redistricting bill, sending it to the Senate. The bill's author admitted the maps were drawn "purely for political performance" of Republicans.
Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Republican allies threatened to run primary challengers against senators who didn't approve the new map. Trump posted repeatedly on social media, naming individual senators and threatening primary opponents. Heritage Action, the lobbying arm of the Heritage Foundation, warned that "all federal funding will be stripped from the state" if the Senate failed to pass the maps. A White House official pushed back, calling Heritage's claim false.
Democratic House lawmakers denounced the proposed redistricting as a racial gerrymander for dividing Carson's 7th District in Indianapolis. That district is the state's most urban and racially diverse. The plan would have split it among four new districts, diluting Black and urban voting power.
Indiana uses the typical census-based redistricting cycle, with the next scheduled redistricting in 2031 after the 2030 census. Trump's push for mid-decade redistricting reflected his desire to maximize Republican seats before the 2026 midterms. The Senate's rejection dealt a rare rebuke to Trump's political demands.
Heritage Action threatens Indiana GOP senators over redistricting
Heritage Action, the lobbying arm of the Heritage Foundation, posted on social media hours before the Indiana Senate's Dec. 11, 2025 vote that "all federal funding will be stripped from the state" if the Senate failed to pass Trump's redistricting map. The group warned that "roads will not be paved," "guard bases will close," and "major projects will stop." The threat was extraordinary—a dark money group threatening to punish an entire state for how its legislators vote.
A White House official pushed back against Heritage's post, stating "This is not true that any of us know of and none of us are aware of anyone talking to Heritage." The denial raised questions about whether Heritage Action was coordinating with the administration or acting independently. Heritage Action's threat came as Trump and Vice President JD Vance were already pressuring Indiana Senate Republicans to pass the redistricting bill.
The threat targeted a Republican-controlled legislature in a deep red state. Indiana Senate Republicans were considering whether to approve new congressional maps designed to produce a 9-0 Republican delegation by dismantling districts held by Democratic Reps. André Carson and Frank Mrvan. Trump personally demanded passage. Heritage Action's funding threat aimed to intimidate the final holdouts.
Election law professor Luis Fuentes-Rohwer of Indiana University called Heritage Action's threat "coercion on steroids" and stated that "coercion is clearly unconstitutional." Georgetown Law professor Meryl Justin Chertoff said that if Trump did threaten to withhold all federal funding from Indiana, it would violate the law. Federal funding to states can't be conditioned on legislative votes unrelated to the funding program.
The Indiana Senate voted 31-19 to reject the redistricting plan despite Heritage Action's threats. Twenty-one Republican senators joined all 10 Democrats to block the bill. Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray led the opposition, telling colleagues "We can't be bullied" by Trump and outside groups.
DeSantis calls Florida special legislative session for April congressional redistricting
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issues a proclamation on January 7, 2026, calling for a special legislative session in April 2026 to redraw the state's congressional districts. DeSantis cites an expected Supreme Court ruling as justification, signaling advance knowledge of the pending Louisiana v. Callais decision. Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd moves the congressional primary qualifying deadline to June to accommodate new maps. DeSantis has long targeted the seats of four Democratic members — Reps. Kathy Castor, Darren Soto, Lois Frankel, and Debbie Wasserman Schultz — as part of a plan to expand Florida's Republican congressional delegation from 20 to 24 seats.
Jan 16, 2026Main
Virginia General Assembly passes redistricting constitutional amendment for second time
The Virginia General Assembly passes a constitutional amendment on January 16, 2026, allowing the Democratic-controlled legislature to temporarily redraw the state's congressional districts — the second required passage after initial approval in October 2025. Under Virginia's constitution, amendments must pass the legislature twice in separate sessions and then be approved by voters. The Democratic strategy is designed to counter Republican mid-decade redistricting in Texas, Missouri, and other red states. Republican opponents file the first of multiple lawsuits the same week, arguing the amendment process violated timing requirements. Early voting for an April 21 special election on the amendment begins in March.
Feb 4, 2026Main
Supreme Court rejects GOP challenge to California redistricting map
On Feb. 4, 2026, the Supreme Court issued an unsigned order rejecting Republicans' request to block California's new congressional map. The map was approved by 64% of California voters in November 2025 via Proposition 50. It's designed to flip five Republican-held seats in a state where Democrats already hold a 43-9 majority. The new lines take effect immediately. Filing for congressional primaries in California begins Feb. 9, 2026. Governor Newsom championed Proposition 50 specifically to counter Texas's mid-decade Republican redistricting, which was backed by President Trump. Republicans argued the map was an "unconstitutional racial gerrymander." A lower federal court ruled 2-1 that the maps were driven by partisan politics, not race. The Supreme Court ruled in 2019 that partisan gerrymandering is a "political question" beyond federal courts' reach. That precedent allowed California's map to proceed.
Utah GOP gerrymander repeal collapses after $4.3M signature fraud scandal
A Republican effort to repeal Utah's anti-gerrymandering law collapsed in early February 2026 after county officials flagged thousands of fraudulent petition signatures. The GOP hired Patriot Grassroots, a Wyoming firm promoted by Donald Trump Jr., paying it over $4.3 million to gather signatures. Utah County Clerk Aaron Davidson, a Republican, called it "probably the most extensive fraud that we've seen" and referred 27 packets containing hundreds of signatures to prosecutors. By Feb. 7, clerks had verified only 76,079 signatures, just 54% of the 140,748 required. The campaign needed 64,669 more signatures before the Feb. 15 deadline. Voters also reported being tricked by signature gatherers who misrepresented what they were signing. The repeal effort targeted Proposition 4, a 2018 voter-approved initiative that created an independent redistricting commission. After Utah's legislature ignored the initiative and drew a gerrymander, courts ordered a new map creating one Democratic-leaning district in Salt Lake County.
Virginia redistricting referendum cleared for April ballot, could flip 3-5 House seats
The Virginia Supreme Court ruled on Feb. 13, 2026, that the April 21 redistricting referendum can proceed despite Republican legislators' challenge. A Tazewell County circuit judge had blocked the measure on Jan. 27, but the state's highest court allowed the vote while continuing to review the case. The referendum asks voters whether to authorize mid-decade congressional redistricting that would likely favor Democrats. Virginia currently has a 6-5 Democratic congressional delegation under maps drawn by the state Supreme Court in 2021. Princeton Gerrymandering Project analysis shows Democrats could draw maps securing 9-10 of 11 seats. If voters approve the measure, Virginia would join 14 states using independent or special redistricting processes. Democrats and good-government groups support the measure as Republicans hold a 220-215 House majority, making Virginia critical to 2026 midterm control.
NY redistricting fight heads to Supreme Court as deadlines loom
Republicans, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, and three GOP election officials asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block a state court ruling that struck down New York's 11th Congressional District for diluting Black and Latino votes. Justice Jeffrey Pearlman ruled on Jan. 21, 2026 that the district — covering all of Staten Island and parts of southern Brooklyn — violates the state constitution because it cancels out the growing political power of minority voters who now make up nearly 30% of Staten Island's population. The Trump administration's Solicitor General, D. John Sauer, filed an uninvited amicus brief calling the proposed redraw "an open and unabashed racial gerrymander." The case landed at SCOTUS as two emergency applications (Nos. 25A914 and 25A915), with the voters who challenged the map given until Feb. 19 at 4 PM to respond. New York's candidate petitioning period starts Feb. 24, making it nearly impossible to implement a new map in time for the 2026 elections. The state's Independent Redistricting Commission refused to meet or draw a new map while appeals were pending, effectively running out the clock. Marc Elias's law firm brought the original lawsuit on behalf of four voters — a Black man, a white woman, a Latino man, and a Latina woman — who argued that pairing Staten Island with southern Brooklyn instead of Lower Manhattan suppresses minority voting power. A redrawn district would likely flip the seat from Republican to Democrat, shifting the razor-thin House majority.
DOJ sues California over Prop 50 redistricting map, Supreme Court allows it anyway
California voters passed Proposition 50 in November 2024, amending the state constitution to let the legislature draw a new congressional map bypassing the state independent redistricting commission. Democrats drew a new map they say protects minority communities; the Trump DOJ sued Governor Gavin Newsom in early 2026, calling it a racial gerrymander violating the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause. On February 4, 2026, the Supreme Court refused an emergency request to block the map, allowing it to take effect for the 2026 midterm elections. Critics note the DOJ selectively targeted California while simultaneously backing Texas's challenged map, exposing a partisan double standard.
Virginia voters to decide redistricting referendum April 21 that could flip 4 House seats
Virginia Democrats pushed through a constitutional amendment referendum scheduled for April 21, 2026, asking voters whether the General Assembly should temporarily draw new congressional maps to restore fairness after Republican-led redistricting in Texas, Ohio, and North Carolina. The current maps, drawn by the bipartisan Virginia Redistricting Commission, give Republicans five of Virginia's eleven congressional seats. Democrats argue new maps could flip four of those seats based on shifting demographics shown in the 2025 governor's race. The amendment required two separate legislative approvals — passed in October 2025 and January 2026 — before going to voters. Legal battles have threatened to block the referendum, but the Virginia Supreme Court cleared it to proceed on February 13, 2026. Virginia redistricting is a key piece of the national chess match over House control.
Supreme Court lets Texas use racially challenged redistricting map for 2026
The U.S. Supreme Court voted 6-3 in December 2025 to let Texas use its controversial mid-decade congressional redistricting map in the 2026 elections, overruling a federal district court that had blocked it as racial gerrymandering. Texas Republicans drew the new map in August 2025 after the Trump DOJ pressured the state to eliminate coalition districts — majority-minority districts without a single dominant racial group. The new map could give Republicans five additional House seats, potentially expanding their majority from 25 to 30 of Texas's 38 congressional seats. A three-judge federal panel found in November 2025 that Texas had racially gerrymandered the map, but the Supreme Court's conservative majority stayed that ruling. Justice Samuel Alito wrote that Texas's motive was "pure and simple" partisan advantage, which prior rulings permit, even as civil rights groups argue the racial and partisan lines cannot be disentangled. The case continues in lower courts, meaning the 2026 map may not survive beyond that election cycle.
Republicans in 5 states launched mid-decade redistricting to redraw maps before 2026
Beginning in July 2025, Trump pushed Republican-controlled states to redraw their congressional maps between decennial censuses — a practice that last happened in 2003, under House Majority Leader Tom DeLay in Texas. Texas responded by redrawing maps that could give Republicans five additional House seats. North Carolina and Missouri followed, each targeting a Democratic-held district. California countered with Proposition 50, approved by voters in November 2025, redrawing maps that could flip five Republican seats. Virginia Democrats proposed bypassing the state's independent commission. Indiana's Republican-dominated Senate defied Trump, voting 31-19 to reject redistricting — with 21 GOP senators joining all Democrats. The Supreme Court allowed both the Texas map (despite a lower court finding probable racial gerrymandering) and California's map to proceed. Republicans projected nine additional seats from their efforts; Democrats projected six. No sitting president had ever pushed multiple states to simultaneously redraw districts for the explicit purpose of protecting a congressional majority.
Blackburn calls for redistricting Tennessee majority-Black 9th District
U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn calls for redistricting Tennessee's majority-Black 9th District to eliminate Rep. Steve Cohen's seat.
Multiple outlets report Blackburn has called for redistricting, as has President Trump.
Apr 21, 2026Main
Virginia voters approve redistricting referendum 51.7%; Tazewell judge blocks it within hours
Virginia voters approved the redistricting referendum 51.7% to 48.3% in a special election on April 21, 2026, with roughly 1.6 million voting yes. Within hours of the polls closing, Tazewell County Circuit Court Judge Jack Hurley issued a permanent injunction blocking certification, ruling the amendment void from inception because Democrats had voted to advance it after early voting for the November 2025 election had already begun. Attorney General Jay Jones immediately pledged to appeal.
Virginia voters approve redistricting amendment, Tazewell judge blocks it
On April 21, 2026, Virginia voters approved a constitutional amendment referendum that would let lawmakers directly redraw congressional maps, bypassing a 2020 bipartisan redistricting commission created to reduce partisan gerrymandering. The measure passed 50.7% to 49.3% out of 2.5 million ballots cast. However, on April 22, 2026—one day after the election—Tazewell County Circuit Court Judge Jack C. Hurley issued a final order declaring all votes "ineffective" and permanently enjoining the State Board of Elections from certifying results. Hurley ruled the House bill authorizing the referendum was "void ab initio" and violated Virginia's Constitution. He also called the ballot language "flagrantly misleading." This was Hurley's third ruling against the proposal. Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones announced an immediate appeal to the Court of Appeals of Virginia. If new maps had taken effect, they would shift the congressional layout from favoring Democrats 6-5 to 10-1, raising questions about which court has final authority over electoral outcomes and whether bipartisan redistricting commissions can be overridden by voter referendum.
Virginia Supreme Court upholds Tazewell injunction blocking certification of voter-approved redistricting referendum
The Virginia Supreme Court upholds a lower court injunction on April 28, 2026, blocking state election officials from certifying the results of the April 21 redistricting referendum that Virginia voters approved by a slim margin. A Tazewell County judge had ruled the constitutional amendment invalid the day after the vote, citing procedural defects in how the General Assembly passed the amendment. The Supreme Court hears oral arguments the following week in a parallel Republican National Committee challenge alleging Democrats improperly expanded a special legislative session to advance redistricting. Under HB 1384, Virginia law requires certification within 14 days of the election — by May 5 — creating a hard deadline that passes without resolution. Congressional candidates must file by May 26, leaving the state's entire 2026 congressional election calendar in uncertainty.
Apr 28, 2026Main
Supreme Court clears Texas congressional map targeting five Democratic seats
The Supreme Court allows Texas to proceed with its mid-decade congressional redistricting plan — known as Plan C2333 — that Republicans drew to eliminate up to five districts currently held by Democrats. The map is part of a broader national mid-decade redistricting push initiated by the Trump administration and carried out by Republican-led state legislatures.
Texas Republicans argue the new map simply reflects population shifts and is constitutionally sound. Democrats argue it is an overt partisan gerrymander designed to maximize Republican seats ahead of the 2026 midterms. The map redraws several competitive suburban districts that Democrats had won in 2024 and eliminates or significantly alters the composition of several minority-majority districts.
The Supreme Court's clearance comes just days before the same court issues its ruling in Louisiana v. Callais gutting Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, removing the primary legal tool that would have been used to challenge racially-drawn districts in the map. Several states — including Florida, Alabama, and Georgia — are moving forward with their own mid-decade maps under the same political strategy.
Apr 29, 2026Main
Reeves announces special session for Mississippi redistricting
Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves announces a special legislative session for May 20, leaving the door open to redistricting Congress to target Rep. Bennie Thompson's majority-Black 2nd District.
Reeves posts: \"First Dobbs. Now Callais. Just Mississippi and Louisiana down here saving our country!\"
In Louisiana v. Callais, the Supreme Court rules 6-3 along ideological lines that Louisiana's 2024 congressional map — which created a second majority-Black district to comply with Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act — is an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. Justice Samuel Alito writes the majority opinion, joined by Roberts, Thomas, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett.
The case arose after federal courts found Louisiana's original 2022 map likely violated Section 2, since it included only one majority-Black district in a state where Black residents make up 30% of the population. Louisiana drew a remedial map in 2024 adding a second majority-Black district, leading to the election of Rep. Cleo Fields. A group of "non-African-American voters" then challenged that new map as racial gerrymandering.
Alito writes that compliance with Section 2 could not justify race-based redistricting. Justice Elena Kagan dissents, joined by the two other liberal justices: "Today's decision renders Section 2 all but a dead letter." Hours after the ruling, Florida lawmakers pass a new congressional map targeting additional Republican-leaning districts. Redistricting experts expect Republican-led legislatures across the South to redraw or eliminate majority-minority districts currently held by Black members of Congress.
Apr 29, 2026Main
Mississippi State Auditor Shad White calls on legislature to eliminate majority-Black 2nd Congressional District
Hours after the Supreme Court hands down its 6-3 decision in Louisiana v. Callais, Mississippi Republican State Auditor Shad White publicly calls for lawmakers to use the ruling to eliminate Mississippi's only majority-Black congressional district — the 2nd, held by Democrat Rep. Bennie Thompson. White posts on social media: \"This likely opens the door to redrawing Mississippi's congressional districts. Mississippi might no longer have a district drawn to protect Bennie Thompson.\"
Thompson's 2nd District runs from the Mississippi Delta through Jackson and was originally created to comply with the Voting Rights Act's requirement that Black voters in Mississippi have meaningful representation. Thompson, who led the House January 6 Committee, represents the state's only reliably Democratic seat.
White's statement comes alongside a call from Republican state Sen. Kevin Blackwell, who writes: \"It's time to erase Bennie Thompson's District.\" Gov. Tate Reeves has a special legislative session already scheduled for May 20 focused on state Supreme Court districts, which operatives say could be expanded to include congressional redistricting.
Apr 29, 2026Main
Supreme Court rules 6-3 in Louisiana v. Callais that second Black-majority district is unconstitutional racial gerrymander
The Supreme Court rules 6-3 in Louisiana v. Callais on April 29, 2026, striking down Louisiana's second majority-Black congressional district as an unconstitutional racial gerrymander under the Equal Protection Clause. Justice Samuel Alito writes for the majority that the state relied too heavily on race when drawing the district in response to a federal court order, finding that "simply pointing to inter-party racial polarization proves nothing" because states may engage in constitutional partisan gerrymandering. Justice Clarence Thomas concurs but writes he would go further and hold that Section 2 has no role in redistricting at all. The three liberal justices dissent sharply, with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson writing that the ruling leaves Section 2 "nearly unenforceable." Legal scholars describe the decision as the most significant blow to the Voting Rights Act since Shelby County v. Holder in 2013.
Apr 29, 2026Main
SCOTUS guts VRA Section 2, opens redistricting to GOP
The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on April 29 that Louisiana's second majority-Black congressional district was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander, a decision that fundamentally rewrites how Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act can be enforced. The case, Louisiana v. Callais, was authored by Justice Samuel Alito and effectively reinstates an intentional-discrimination standard that Congress had specifically repealed in 1982. Justice Elena Kagan read her dissent aloud from the bench, a rare signal of deep disagreement, saying the ruling renders Section 2 'all but a dead letter.' The ruling reverses a precedent set less than three years ago when the Court required Alabama to draw a second majority-Black district. Louisiana has roughly one-third Black population but had only one majority-Black district before court orders required a second; that second district is now invalidated. Political scientist Jonathan Cervas of Carnegie Mellon University, who has served as a special master in redistricting cases, said the Voting Rights Act 'as a means to protect minority voters from vote dilution is essentially dead.' Because most filing deadlines for 2026 elections have passed, the ruling's biggest redistricting impact is expected in 2028, when Republicans could redraw more than a dozen Democratic-held seats previously protected under the VRA.
Supreme Court rules in Louisiana v. Callais that VRA-compliant districts can be racial gerrymanders
The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that majority-Black congressional districts drawn to comply with the Voting Rights Act can themselves constitute unconstitutional racial gerrymanders under the Equal Protection Clause. Justice Samuel Alito wrote the majority; Justice Elena Kagan dissented, arguing the ruling created an impossible compliance trap for states trying to satisfy the VRA. The decision immediately triggered Republican-led redistricting campaigns in Alabama, South Carolina, Louisiana, and Texas, with legislatures moving to redraw majority-Black districts as unconstitutional.
Apr 30, 2026Main
Alabama AG Marshall files emergency SCOTUS motion to lift injunction protecting Black majority district
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall files an emergency motion with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking expedited review of a redistricting case, asking the Court to lift an injunction that currently requires Alabama to use a congressional map with two districts containing substantial Black voter populations. The injunction was put in place by a federal three-judge panel after the Supreme Court's 2023 Allen v. Milligan ruling found Alabama's GOP-drawn map illegally diluted Black voting power.
Marshall argues the Louisiana v. Callais ruling — handed down the previous day — invalidates the reasoning behind the Milligan order. He tells CNN: \"The Alabama in 2026 is not the Alabama of the early 1960s. It's a new time and a different era.\"
If the Court grants relief, Alabama could redraw its map before the May 19 primary to eliminate the second Black majority-influence district, targeting Rep. Shomari Figures' 2nd Congressional District and potentially restoring a 7-0 all-Republican delegation.
Apr 30, 2026Main
Mississippi Gov. Reeves calls redistricting special session following Callais ruling
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves calls a special legislative session on April 30, 2026, the day after the Supreme Court's Callais ruling, to consider redrawing the state's congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterms. Mississippi's congressional delegation is currently 3 Republicans and 1 Democrat — Rep. Bennie Thompson, who represents a majority-Black district. The Callais ruling potentially opens Thompson's district to redistricting. Mississippi holds one of the highest proportions of Black residents of any state, at approximately 38 percent of the population, but has sent only one Black member to Congress since Reconstruction under the VRA-mandated district configuration. Thompson, 77, is the longest-serving Black member of Congress.
Apr 30, 2026Main
Kemp frames Georgia redistricting as required before 2028 election
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp states the Callais ruling \"requires Georgia to adopt new electoral maps before the 2028 election cycle.\"
He declines to redraw for 2026 since early voting has already begun, but frames future redistricting of five majority-Black Democratic seats as required.
May 1, 2026Main
Alabama Gov. Ivey calls special session to redraw maps and potentially cancel May 19 primaries
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey calls a special legislative session on May 1, 2026, directing the Republican-controlled legislature to be prepared to redraw the state's congressional maps if the Supreme Court lifts an existing federal court injunction that requires the state to maintain a second majority-Black district until after the 2030 census. Alabama AG Steve Marshall simultaneously files emergency motions at the Supreme Court asking the Court to lift the injunction in light of the Callais ruling. Ivey acknowledges that without court action, the state cannot use a new map for the May 19 primaries. Trump calls Ivey's move "great" in a social media post, saying Republicans could gain 20 House seats if all red states redistrict before November.
May 1, 2026Main
Tennessee Gov. Lee calls special session to break up Rep. Steve Cohen majority-Black Memphis district
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee announces a special legislative session on May 1, 2026, beginning May 6, following a phone call with President Trump and the Callais ruling. The session targets the state's 9th Congressional District, a majority-Black seat based in Memphis held by 10-term Democrat Steve Cohen — Tennessee's only remaining Democratic House member. Republicans hold a supermajority in both chambers. The proposed map would split Memphis and its majority-Black population across three separate Republican-leaning districts. The redistricting legislation also repeals a 2010 state law prohibiting mid-decade redistricting. Candidate filing for Tennessee's August primary closed in March, meaning any new map would require new candidate filing periods.
May 2, 2026Main
Lee calls special session to redraw Tennessee congressional map
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee calls a special legislative session to redistrict Tennessee's 9th Congressional District, a majority-Black Memphis-based seat held by Democrat Steve Cohen.
The coordination occurs with President Trump. Lee states: \"He would work hard to correct the unconstitutional flaw in the Congressional Maps of the Great State of Tennessee.\"
May 2, 2026Main
Tennessee Gov. Lee calls special session to redistrict Memphis-based Black majority congressional seat
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee calls the state legislature into a special session starting Tuesday, May 5, to redraw the state's 9th Congressional District — a majority-Black Memphis-based seat held by Democrat Steve Cohen, the only Democrat in Tennessee's congressional delegation.
Lee acts after Trump publicly posts on Truth Social that Lee told him he \"would work hard\" to put a new congressional map in place. The state's August primary deadline creates an extremely compressed timeline for drawing, passing, and defending new maps in court.
Democrats note that in 2022 the Tennessee Supreme Court blocked redistricting as too close to an election. Tennessee's candidate qualifying period closed in March. If redistricting proceeds, the likely strategy would be to break up Memphis into multiple pieces, each absorbed by heavily Republican rural and suburban counties — a \"cracking\" approach designed to dilute the 9th District's concentrated Democratic vote and potentially produce an all-Republican congressional delegation.
May 2, 2026Main
Georgia Gov. Kemp declines to delay May 19 primary for redistricting, deferring new maps to 2028
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp announces on May 2, 2026, that he will not call a special session to redistrict Georgia's congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterms, in contrast to neighboring Alabama and Tennessee. Kemp says that with early voting already underway, disrupting the May 19 primary would be impractical, but adds that the Callais ruling "requires Georgia to adopt new electoral maps before the 2028 election cycle." Kemp's decision is notable given that Trump's political allies had lobbied him directly. South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster also announces he does not anticipate calling a special session, despite Trump pressure. The two holdouts undermine Trump's goal of maximizing GOP seat gains in the South for 2026.
May 4, 2026Main
Trump claims on Truth Social directing Republican-led states to eliminate majority-Black districts after Callais
President Donald Trump posts on Truth Social on May 4, 2026, directing Republican-led states to capitalize on the Callais ruling by eliminating majority-Black congressional districts across the South. Trump writes "We should demand that State Legislatures do what the Supreme Court says must be done" and claims Republicans could gain 20 House seats if all red states redistrict before November. The post prompts immediate action in Louisiana, Alabama, and Tennessee, whose governors had been hesitating in the days after the ruling. Trump also posts separately about taking seats from California ("52 seats") and Illinois ("17 seats"), saying Democrats "are rigging this election to try to win." David Becker, founder of the Center for Election Innovation and Research, says Trump's behavior signals "a president who is feeling confident... does not do these things."
May 4, 2026Main
DeSantis signs 24-4 congressional redistricting map; Equal Ground files constitutional lawsuit same day
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signs a new congressional redistricting map into law on May 4, 2026, potentially flipping four Democratic House seats to Republican by redrawing districts in Tampa, Orlando, and South Florida. The map targets Reps. Kathy Castor, Darren Soto, Lois Frankel, and Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and was drawn entirely by DeSantis's office rather than the legislature. The Florida Legislature approved it 83-28 in the House and 21-17 in the Senate after a three-day special session with minimal public testimony. Hours after the signing, the Equal Ground Education Fund files a 71-page lawsuit in Leon County arguing the map violates Florida's voter-approved Fair Districts Amendment, which bans both partisan gerrymandering and maps that dilute minority voting power. DeSantis's office argues the race-related prong of the amendment is now void under Callais — and that if one prong falls, the entire amendment, including the partisan gerrymandering ban, is nullified.
The Supreme Court rejects Louisiana's request for rehearing in Louisiana v. Callais on May 5, 2026, without comment, and simultaneously grants a request from the state to immediately finalize the opinion — bypassing the normal 25-day waiting period before judgment issues. The accelerated finalization allows Louisiana to begin drawing a new congressional map immediately rather than waiting until late May. Justice Samuel Alito includes a striking footnote noting the majority had wanted to issue the opinion nearly seven months earlier but was delayed by the dissenting justices. The immediate finalization leaves civil rights plaintiffs with no time to seek additional stays and effectively starts the clock for Louisiana's accelerated redistricting before its July 15 rescheduled primary.
May 7, 2026Main
Tennessee Legislature passes map splitting Memphis into three GOP districts; NAACP calls it industrial-scale voter dilution
The Tennessee Legislature passes a new congressional map on May 7, 2026, splitting Memphis and its majority-Black population among three Republican-leaning congressional districts, eliminating Rep. Steve Cohen's 9th Congressional District. The bill, HB7001, also repeals a 2010 state law that banned mid-decade redistricting. Speaker Cameron Sexton argues the Callais ruling means "redistricting should be color-blind." Dozens of protesters interrupt Senate and House committee hearings, chanting "Hands off our vote" and singing "We Shall Overcome," with state troopers removing demonstrators on multiple occasions. Brennan Center vice president Kareem Crayton testifies that splitting Memphis across three districts means "no single representative would have an incentive to show attention to the issues and concerns of people who live there." The NAACP calls the map "Black vote dilution at an industrial scale."
May 8, 2026Main
Virginia Supreme Court voids redistricting referendum 4-3, keeps 2021 maps
The Supreme Court of Virginia struck down the voter-approved redistricting amendment 4-3 on May 8, 2026, ruling in McDougle v. Scott that Democrats violated the constitutional requirement for an intervening election. Justice Arthur D. Kelsey wrote the majority, joined by Justices Teresa Chafin, Stephen McCullough, and Wesley Russell Jr., holding that early voting constitutes part of a general election. Chief Justice Cleo Powell dissented with Justices Thomas Mann and Junius Fulton III, arguing state law since 1970 defines a general election as a single day.
Virginia Democrats file emergency SCOTUS appeal to reinstate voter-approved redistricting map
Virginia House Speaker Don Scott, Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, and Senate President Pro Tempore Louise Lucas filed an emergency application with Chief Justice John Roberts on May 11, 2026, asking the U.S. Supreme Court to pause the Virginia Supreme Court ruling and reinstate the voter-approved congressional map ahead of the 2026 midterms. The filing cited Moore v. Harper to argue the state court exceeded its authority over federal elections, and argued that early voting does not constitute an election under federal law.
Kay Ivey sets August special primaries for four Alabama House districts
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey set August 11 special primaries for four congressional districts after the Supreme Court allowed the state to return to its 2023 congressional map.
McMaster calls a South Carolina special session to redraw maps that eliminate Clyburn's majority-Black district
Gov. Henry McMaster called a special session on May 14, 2026, ordering South Carolina lawmakers to reconvene to redraw congressional maps after the Republican Senate rejected redistricting 29-17. The Republican-led House passed a seven-district map 74-37 after midnight on May 20, reconfiguring lines to give Republicans a 7-0 advantage and eliminating the majority-Black 6th District held by 17-term Rep. Jim Clyburn. The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced the map within hours, with one final cloture vote required before it could reach the governor.
May 19, 2026Main
Alabama runs split congressional primary after Callais upends Voting Rights Act maps
On May 19, 2026, Alabama ran a split primary under maps revived after the Supreme Court's April 29 Callais decision and the Court's May 11 order letting the state use its 2023 map. Gov. Kay Ivey and Secretary of State Wes Allen counted binding results only in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th congressional districts, while voters in the 1st, 2nd, 6th, and 7th had to come back on August 11 because their primary results were voided. The arrangement turned a redistricting fight into an immediate test of how quickly state officials could shrink Black voting power and force a costly redo of a federal election (Supreme Court opinion; Alabama Reflector; OPB/NPR; WBHM; WBRC).
Louisiana House committee advances SB 121, moving to erase Cleo Fields's majority-Black district
The Louisiana House and Governmental Affairs Committee voted 10-7 on May 21, 2026, to advance SB 121 with amendments, according to the Louisiana Legislature's committee vote record and bill page. Jay Morris and committee Republicans pushed the redraw after the Supreme Court's Callais ruling and Jeff Landry's election delay. The proposal would collapse the second majority-Black district created in 2024, make Cleo Fields's current seat more Republican, and move Louisiana toward a 5-1 Republican split in its U.S. House delegation, according to WAFB, KSLA, and Democracy Docket. Opponents said the plan diluted Black voting power while Morris said it maximized Republican advantage.
South Carolina Senate invokes cloture to advance map targeting Clyburn's district
On May 23, 2026, the South Carolina Senate voted 26-18 to invoke cloture on H. 5683, limiting debate and pushing a new congressional map toward final passage ([Senate Journal](https://www.scstatehouse.gov/sessphp/senjour.htm), [WRDW](https://www.wrdw.com/2026/05/23/sc-redistricting-map-passes-second-reading-final-vote-set-tuesday/?outputType=amp)). Republican senators used cloture one day after they failed to suspend chamber rules by the two-thirds vote needed to fast-track the bill, and the move followed Gov. Henry McMaster's May 14 order calling lawmakers back for a special session on congressional maps ([Governor's Office](https://governor.sc.gov/news/2026-05/gov-henry-mcmaster-calls-general-assembly-back-extra-session), [Senate Calendar](https://www.scstatehouse.gov/sessphp/sctoday.htm)). The bill targets the 6th District, Jim Clyburn's seat and the state's only majority-Black congressional district, so the next vote would test whether South Carolina Republicans could turn a procedural win into a map likely to face immediate voting-rights litigation ([SC Daily Gazette](https://scdailygazette.com/2026/05/23/redistricting-fight-prompts-something-new-for-sc-legislators-meeting-on-a-sunday/), [Louisiana v. Callais](https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/24-109_21o3.pdf)).
Three-judge panel blocks Alabama's post-Callais map on 14th Amendment grounds
A unanimous three-judge federal panel blocked Alabama from using its 2023 congressional map in the 2026 elections, finding it violated the 14th Amendment regardless of the Callais ruling's effect on VRA Section 2 claims. The panel wrote it "cannot see our way clear to requiring Alabamians to cast their votes in the 2026 elections under a districting plan tainted by intentional race-based discrimination." The court reinstated the special master remedial map with two Black opportunity districts, which Alabama had used in the 2024 elections and May 2026 primaries. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall immediately announced plans to appeal to the Supreme Court.
SC Senate cloture vote fails 20-24, blocking redistricting bill H.5683
The South Carolina Senate rejected cloture on H.5683 by a 20-24 vote on May 26, 2026, effectively killing the redistricting bill for the legislative session. Eight Republicans crossed the aisle to join sixteen Democrats in blocking the measure, denying Republican leaders the 25 votes needed to end debate. Senate President Pro Tem Thomas Alexander said leadership would evaluate options for the next session, while opponents celebrated the vote as a defense of fair redistricting norms.
South Carolina Senate kills Trump-backed Clyburn district gerrymander
On May 26, 2026, the Republican-led South Carolina Senate killed a Trump-backed plan to redraw the state's congressional map mid-decade and eliminate the only majority-Black district, held by Rep. Jim Clyburn since 1993. A cloture motion to end debate failed 20-24 — twelve Republicans joined all Democrats in voting it down — after 56,308 South Carolinians cast primary ballots on the first day of early voting, shattering the previous single-day primary record. The senate then voted 26-18 to adjourn the special session. Republican Sen. Richard Cash, one of the most conservative members of the chamber, said he couldn't in good conscience stop an election already underway. The map, drawn by Republican operative Adam Kincaid in Washington without meaningful public input, would have dismantled the 6th District — a majority-Black crescent-shaped district first created after the 1990 census — and pushed the congressional primary from June 9 to August 11 at an estimated cost of $5.3 to $6 million. The defeat is the first time a state has failed to pass a new map in President Trump's national mid-decade redistricting push since the Supreme Court's April 29, 2026 ruling in Louisiana v. Callais opened the door by weakening the Voting Rights Act.
Alabama asks Supreme Court to block redistricting ruling
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall filed emergency stay applications with the U.S. Supreme Court on May 27, 2026, asking the justices to block a three-judge federal panel's ruling that prevented the state from using its 2023 congressional map in the 2026 midterm elections. The panel had found the 2023 map was an "intentional" racial gerrymander that violated the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause. Justice Clarence Thomas, the circuit justice for the 11th Circuit, declined to grant an immediate administrative stay but ordered voting rights plaintiffs to respond by June 1, 2026.
The case is the latest chapter in years of litigation over Alabama's repeated refusal to draw a second majority-Black congressional district, despite court orders requiring one. Alabama is more than 26% Black but, under its 2023 map, only one of its seven congressional districts was majority-Black. A court-ordered remedial map drawn by a special master, used in 2024 elections and Alabama's May 2026 primaries, includes two majority-Black districts.
The stay application arrives in the wake of the Supreme Court's 6-3 ruling in Louisiana v. Callais on April 29, 2026, which gutted Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act by requiring plaintiffs to prove discriminatory intent rather than just discriminatory effect. Alabama's legislature raced to reinstate its blocked 2023 map after that decision, arguing Callais gave it a path to legitimize the gerrymander. The three-judge panel rejected that argument, writing that Alabama "cannot use Callais to legitimize its pre-Callais decision to double down on the discriminatory vote dilution."
The ruling puts the Supreme Court, which handed Alabama the Callais framework it sought, in the position of deciding whether intentional racial discrimination under the 14th Amendment can survive even that framework. The outcome will determine which map governs Alabama's four remaining congressional races, set for an August 11 special election.