WASHINGTON, DC — The US Supreme Court today granted Texas’ request for a stay of the three-judge panel’s ruling blocking the 2025 congressional map as an illegal racial gerrymander, which means it will be in place for the 2026 congressional election. The League joined an amicus brief in the case, filed by the Legal Defense Fund (LDF) on behalf of LDF, Black Voters Matter, the Houston Area Urban League, Barbara Jordan Leadership Institute, Friendship-West Baptist Church, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Texas, League of Women Voters, and League of Women Voters of Texas.  

The following statement is from Marcia Johnson, chief of activation and justice at the League of Women Voters, and Joyce LeBombard, president of the League of Women Voters of Texas: 

“Today the US Supreme Court sent a message that the interests of politicians matter more than those of the people. This is unacceptable. The facts of this case are crystal clear to everyone, including a three-judge panel sitting in the Fifth Circuit: this map is an illegal racial gerrymander and should not stand one moment longer. Yet the Court decided to let this map, which will harm Black and Latino Texans, be the operative map for the 2026 congressional elections.   

“The League is outraged by the politicization of redistricting and manipulation of voters as political pawns. Allowing this map to remain in place for the next election signals a dangerous tolerance for authoritarian tactics in how political power is drawn and justified.  

“The League of Women Voters and the League of Women Voters of Texas reject that trajectory. We will continue fighting to ensure every Texan—and every resident of this country—has access to fair maps and fair representation, and we will challenge any attempt to manipulate district lines to entrench power rather than earn it.  

“The League remains unwavering in our commitment to protect the voting power and equal representation of every community in Texas.” 

###