(Washington) The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed California to use a new voter-approved, Democratic-friendly electoral map for this year’s elections, rejecting the latest appeal filed by state Republicans and the Trump administration.
Published at
No judge objected to the brief order.
The justices previously allowed Texas’ Republican-friendly voting map to be used in 2026, despite a lower court ruling that it was likely to discriminate on the basis of ethnicity.
Conservative Justice Samuel Alito wrote in December that it appeared both states had adopted new voting maps for political purposes, which an earlier Supreme Court ruling said cannot be grounds for a federal lawsuit.
Republicans, joined by the Trump administration, claimed that California’s map also improperly relied on ethnicity. But a lower court rejected that argument by a two-to-one vote.
The justices’ unsigned order keeps in place districts designed to flip up to five seats currently held by Republicans, part of a nationwide redistricting battle sparked by President Donald Trump as control of Congress hangs in the balance in the midterm elections.
Last year, at the urging of Donald Trump, Texas Republicans redistricted the state in an effort to gain five seats.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat who is considering a 2028 presidential run, had promised to fight back, even if he had to convince voters, not just lawmakers, to do so.
Nominations for California’s legislative primaries begin Monday.
