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Texas' new congressional maps are working their way through the courts right now, and our sister state of Louisiana is facing a similar issue, with its new maps being argued yesterday before the Supreme Court.
In Louisiana's case, their lawsuits are actually quite a bit more complicated, as their maps are facing two different challenges. In their original redrawn maps, Louisiana officials removed all but one majority-minority district, which resulted in a lawsuit from left-wing groups like the ACLU.
A district judge blocked those maps from taking effect, resulting in the state ultimately deciding to redraw the maps again, this time with a second majority-minority district once again included. This again prompted a lawsuit, this time from a group claiming that the state was prioritizing race in the redrawing of the map, which violated the 14th Amendment.
A separate three-judge panel agreed with the plaintiffs in the second suit, and that map was also blocked. The Supreme Court agreed to hear the case in its 2024–2025 term, but announced it would rehear arguments this fall.
Gary Polland with the Texas Conservative Review says this back and forth is unnecessary, because the original claim from leftists in the ACLU—which was that removing majority-minority districts keeps minorities out of office—is demonstrably false. He said, "The idea that African Americans can't get elected unless they have a gerrymandered majority-minority district is just not true. It's just inaccurate."
He then went on to point out how prioritizing race when drawing congressional districts is actually rather discriminatory, saying, "This is like a follow-up of race-based college admissions. You know, the Supreme Court struck that down. Why would this be any different?"