Attorney General Ken Paxton today applauded the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to take up Texas’ redistricting case later this spring.
Last August, a three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court in San Antonio invalidated two of Texas’ 36 Congressional districts (27 and 35) along with nine state House districts. Attorney General Paxton appealed the rulings to the high court, which blocked them from taking effect.
“We are eager for the chance to present our case before the U.S. Supreme Court, which ordered the district court in San Antonio to draw lawful congressional and House maps in 2012 that the Legislature adopted in 2013 and used in the last three elections,” Attorney General Paxton said. “The lower court’s decisions to invalidate parts of the maps it drew and adopted are inexplicable and indefensible.”
When the Supreme Court put the lower court decisions on hold last September, it meant that no changes to Texas’ redistricting maps would be made ahead of the midterm elections. Attorney General Paxton argued at the time that allowing maps to be redrawn would throw “the Texas election deadlines into chaos for the second time this decade.” The state primary election is March 6.