Kagan Warns Constitutional 'Violation' in Supre...

By Peter Aitken

Politics Weekend Editor

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Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan warned that the Supreme Court's decision in the Texas redistricting case will lead to a "violation of the Constitution" of voter rights.

The Supreme Court issued an unsigned decision in favor of freezing the initial 2-1 U.S. federal court ruling against Texas Governor Greg Abbott's proposed redistricting map, a stay that could help Republicans pick up five additional U.S. House seats in next year's midterms.

"This Court’s stay ensures that many Texas citizens, for no good reason, will be placed in electoral districts because of their race," Kagan wrote in her dissent. "And that result, as this Court has pronounced year in and year out, is a violation of the Constitution."

Why It Matters

The court responded to an emergency request from Texas for quick action ahead of the qualifying deadline for March primary elections.

A temporary block on the lower court decision had already been issued while the full High Court considered the appeal. The ruling now allows Texas to proceed with its map in a major win for President Donald Trump as he looks to avoid losing the House—which has a thin Republican majority—to Democrats.

Opponents of the map argue that it violates the federal Voting Rights Act by reducing representation of minority voters in various new districts, while Republicans argue that it creates a new Hispanic-majority district and two new Black-majority districts—to which critics argue that the majorities are thin and rely on high voter turnout.

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What To Know

Kagan, on behalf of the three liberal justices on the court, made clear that they believe the decision will lead to a "violation of the Constitution," citing a race-based allocation of voters.

The decision notably makes no ruling on the constitutionality of the redistricting, leaving the question unresolved as to whether the new map unfairly dilutes the power of Black and Latino voters.

In her dissent, Kagan noted that the U.S. District Court's conclusion was that "plaintiffs were likely to succeed on their racial-gerrymandering claim. The desire for more Republican seats no doubt motivated the redistricting project: It was, as this Court has said, the officials’ 'end goal.'"

"Today's order disserves the millions of Texans whom the District Court found were assigned to their new districts based on their race. Because this Court’s precedents and our Constitution demand better, I respectfully dissent," Kagan wrote.

What People Are Saying

Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, in a statement after the ruling, in part: "Texas is paving the way as we take our country back, district by district, state by state. This map reflects the political climate of our state and is a massive win for Texas and every conservative who is tired of watching the left try to upend the political system with bogus lawsuits.”

Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin, in a statement: “Today’s decision by the Supreme Court to allow Texas Republicans’ rigged, racially gerrymandered maps to go into effect is wrong — both morally and legally. Once again, the Supreme Court gave Trump exactly what he wanted: a rigged map to help Republicans avoid accountability in the midterms for turning their backs on the American people. But it will backfire. Texas Democrats fought every step of the way against these unlawful, rigged congressional maps and sparked a national movement. Democrats are fighting back, responding in kind to even the playing field across the country. Republicans are about to be taught one valuable lesson: Don’t mess with Texas voters. The DNC stands committed to building power in Texas, no matter the maps in play, one election at a time.”

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