Federal court blocks Texas from using new congressional map in 2026 elections

A three-judge federal panel has blocked Texas from using its newly enacted congressional map, ruling that the 2025 boundaries were drawn through unconstitutional racial gerrymandering, according to a court order.

The decision was issued on Tuesday in the Western District of Texas, where U.S. District Judge Jeffrey V. Brown, joined by Senior U.S. District Judge David C. Guaderrama, granted a preliminary injunction preventing the state from using the 2025 map.

The judges ordered that the 2026 congressional elections proceed under the map enacted in 2021.

The court found that substantial evidence showed race predominated in the design of several districts in the 2025 plan.

The opinion cited communications from state officials and the U.S. Department of Justice, concluding that Texas lawmakers altered district boundaries to create or eliminate districts based on their racial composition.

“Substantial evidence shows that Texas racially gerrymandered the 2025 Map,” the court wrote, adding that “race was the criterion that, in the State’s view, could not be compromised.”

According to the panel, the Legislature reshaped districts in the Houston, Dallas–Fort Worth, and Austin–San Antonio regions in ways that departed from traditional redistricting criteria, such as compactness and respect for county lines.

The court said these changes aligned with efforts to dismantle “coalition districts,” where multiple minority groups previously formed voting majorities.

The ruling does not resolve the plaintiffs’ additional claims of intentional vote dilution, which may be taken up later. The injunction applies only to the upcoming 2026 cycle unless modified by a higher court.

Texas is expected to appeal the decision. Under federal law, any appeal from this three-judge panel will go directly to the U.S. Supreme Court.