Gerrymandering is a longstanding practice in American politics where both major parties manipulate congressional district boundaries to gain an electoral advantage. But what exactly is gerrymandering? It’s the act of redrawing district lines in a way that benefits one political party over another.
The Supreme Court has ruled that partisan gerrymandering is legal, but racial gerrymandering is not. When district boundaries are drawn with race as the primary factor, it violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA). Racial gerrymandering dilutes the voting power of minorities and influences who gets elected to represent them.
Typically, congressional maps are redrawn every ten years, following the U.S. Census. Texas completed this process in 2021, based on the 2020 Census. However, in July 2025, President Donald Trump urged Texas Governor Greg Abbott to redraw the map again, with the specific goal of helping Republicans gain five more seats in the 2026 midterm elections. Republicans currently hold a narrow majority in the U.S. House of Representatives—219 to 212—and Trump appears concerned about maintaining this slim edge to continue pushing his political agenda.
Even before Trump’s push, the 2021 Texas map had already drawn legal scrutiny. In May 2025, Texas defended the map in court, arguing it wasn’t racially gerrymandered. But last month, the U.S. Department of Justice sent a letter to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, alleging that the map was indeed racially discriminatory and needed to be redrawn. Governor Abbott responded by placing redistricting on the agenda for a special legislative session.
During legislative hearings, Texas lawmakers openly admitted that the goal of the new map was to strengthen Republican control. They claimed, with a straight face, that this was partisan, not racial, gerrymandering. While that may pass legal muster under current Supreme Court precedent, critics argue that the result is the same: voter suppression, particularly of Black and Latino communities. The newly released map specifically targets Black and Brown districts.
Last week, the Texas legislature approved the new congressional map, which could give Republicans up to 30 House seats, an increase from their current 25. This would raise their share of Texas House seats from 66% to 79%, while reducing Democratic-held seats from 13 to just 8.
Many Texans, as well as national Democratic leaders, strongly oppose the plan. They call it unjust, undemocratic, and harmful to communities of color. Nonetheless, the Texas redistricting committee has approved the map for a full floor vote, expected to take place the week of August 4, 2025.
In response, Democrats have several strategies. First, they may boycott the session to break quorum, preventing a vote on the map. Additionally, some Democratic-controlled states are planning to follow Texas’ lead and redraw their maps in a similar fashion.
This issue will likely reach the Supreme Court, which is set to rule on a Louisiana case involving racial gerrymandering. If Justice Clarence Thomas gets his way, the Court could gut Section 2 of the VRA, making it easier for states like Texas to implement maps that could silence communities of color.
The nation now watches to see how Democrats will respond—and whether the courts will intervene to protect voting rights.
