Dueling Orders Leave Missouri’s Congressional Map Unresolved

Dueling Orders Leave Missouri’s Congressional Map Unresolved

By EditorSep 09, 20260 Comments
Two federal decisions landed within minutes of each other on September 8, pointing in opposite directions. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, acting alone and without explanation, rejected Missouri Republican officials' emergency application to stay the Missouri Supreme Court's September 3 ruling, leaving the 2022 map in place for November. Moments later, Chief U.S. District Judge Stephen Clark of the Eastern District of Missouri issued a 14-day temporary restraining order barring Secretary of State Denny Hoskins from using any map other than the one drawn in the 2025 special session, ruling in a suit filed September 4 by U.S. Rep.…
Missouri, , , ,
Read More
Galveston County, TX – A County Commission Map Fight With National Consequences

Galveston County, TX – A County Commission Map Fight With National Consequences

By EditorSep 07, 20260 Comments
The litigation over Galveston County's precinct maps - the term Texas law uses for county commissioner, justice of the peace, and constable districts - is closely watched for its implications for voting rights law, in particular the viability of minority coalition claims under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. The lead case is Petteway v. Galveston County, which includes claims of intentional discrimination and racial gerrymandering under the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments that remain pending in federal court, and a separate dispute over district/precinct boundaries the county adopted in June 2026 is proceeding in state court. A summary of…
FEATURES, Texas, , , ,
Read More
Missouri Judge Blocks Redistricting Referendum From November Ballot. Appeal Filed

Missouri Judge Blocks Redistricting Referendum From November Ballot. Appeal Filed

By EditorAug 21, 20260 Comments
A Missouri judge has ruled that the state's congressional map cannot be put to a referendum vote. On August 19, Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green upheld Secretary of State Denny Hoskins' refusal to place the referendum on the November ballot, found Hoskins' decision lawful, and ordered that the 2025 map "remain in full force and effect for the 2026 general election." Gov. Mike Kehoe signed the map into law on September 28, 2025, after calling the Republican-led General Assembly into a special session in response to President Trump's request that GOP-controlled states redraw their congressional boundaries before the midterms.…
Redistricting, , , , ,
Read More
Galveston County, TX: A Local Redistricting Case With National Reach

Galveston County, TX: A Local Redistricting Case With National Reach

By EditorAug 21, 20260 Comments
The litigation over Galveston County's precinct maps - the term Texas law uses for county commissioner, justice of the peace, and constable districts - is closely watched for its implications for voting rights law, in particular the viability of minority coalition claims under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. In addition, claims of intentional discrimination and racial gerrymandering under the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments remain pending in federal court, and separate litigation over a new map the county adopted in June 2026 is proceeding in state court. A summary of the litigation thus far is below. Galveston County voters…
Texas, , , ,
Read More
8th Circuit Reverses Its Ruling on Native American Minority District Post Callais

8th Circuit Reverses Its Ruling on Native American Minority District Post Callais

By EditorJul 11, 2026
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled Tuesday, July 7, to reverse a 2023 legal victory by the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians and the Spirit Lake Nation, in which a federal district court judge had concluded that North Dakota's state legislative map unlawfully diluted Native American voting strength in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. The case has a long procedural history. In 2023, the U.S. District Court sided with the tribes and ordered a remedial map, which was used in the 2024 elections, resulting in three tribal members being elected to…
Redistricting, , , ,
Read More
Callais Comes to County Government: Federal Judge Applies New VRA Standard to Mississippi Local Map

Callais Comes to County Government: Federal Judge Applies New VRA Standard to Mississippi Local Map

By EditorJun 25, 2026
A federal judge in Mississippi ruled on June 24 that DeSoto County's 2022 electoral map does not violate Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, dismissing a challenge brought by the DeSoto County NAACP, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, and two Black voters who alleged the map dilutes Black voting power across 25 local offices, including the Board of Supervisors, Board of Education, Election Commission, justice court judges, and constables. The U.S. District Court, applying the Supreme Court's April 29 ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, found the plaintiffs failed all three preconditions of the Gingles test - the threshold legal standard…
Local Redistricting, Mississippi, , ,
Read More
Florida Supreme Court Declines to Intervene, Locking in Mid-Decade Map for 2026

Florida Supreme Court Declines to Intervene, Locking in Mid-Decade Map for 2026

By EditorJun 14, 2026
The Florida Supreme Court ruled 6-1 on Wednesday, June 10, that it lacks jurisdiction to intervene while the redistricting lawsuit is still pending before the First District Court of Appeal, and declined to use its "all writs" power to grant a temporary injunction against using the mid-decade congressional map that the Florida legislature passed in April that could shift the state’s delegation from a 20–8 Republican advantage to a potential 24–4 split. The ruling came after plaintiffs, the Equal Ground Education Fund, represented by the Elias Law Group, had filed a motion on May 28 to bypass the First District Court…
Florida, Redistricting Litigation, ,
Read More
With Election Clock Ticking, Virginia Democrats File Emergency SCOTUS Appeal

With Election Clock Ticking, Virginia Democrats File Emergency SCOTUS Appeal

By EditorMay 11, 2026
Virginia Democrats on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to revive the voter-approved redistricting amendment struck down last week by the Supreme Court of Virginia, escalating the fight over the state's congressional map to the nation's highest court. In an emergency application filed with Chief Justice John Roberts, attorneys representing House Speaker Don Scott, Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, Senate President Pro Tempore Louise Lucas, and the commonwealth of Virginia asked the court to pause the state ruling while the appeal moves forward. Democrats are asking the court to immediately freeze the Virginia ruling and keep the new congressional maps…
Virginia, , , ,
Read More
Virginia Supreme Court Strikes Down Democratic Redistricting Plan in McDougle v. Virginia

Virginia Supreme Court Strikes Down Democratic Redistricting Plan in McDougle v. Virginia

By EditorMay 09, 2026
The Supreme Court of Virginia on May 8th, struck down a voter-approved constitutional amendment that would have authorized Democrats to redraw the state's congressional map mid-decade, voiding the results of the April 21 special election in which Virginia voters had narrowly approved the measure. In a 4-3 decision in McDougle v. Virginia, the court ruled that the General Assembly violated procedural requirements under Article XII, Section 1 of the Virginia Constitution by advancing the amendment to the ballot, declaring that the constitutional violation "incurably taints the resulting referendum vote and nullifies its legal efficacy." The core procedural flaw, as the…
Virginia, , ,
Read More
Supreme Court Rewrites the Rules for Minority Voting Rights in Louisiana v. Callais

Supreme Court Rewrites the Rules for Minority Voting Rights in Louisiana v. Callais

By EditorMay 08, 2026
On April 29, the Supreme Court issued a landmark 6-3 ruling in Louisiana v. Callais that dramatically narrows how courts evaluate claims of racial vote dilution under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA). The decision, written by Justice Alito, involves Louisiana's congressional map known as "SB8," which was drawn to include a second majority-Black district after a lower court found the state's earlier map likely violated the VRA. When Louisiana complied by drawing SB8, a separate group of plaintiffs challenged it as an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. The Supreme Court agreed, and in doing so, it reshaped the legal…
Voting Rights Act, , , , ,
Read More