What Is Texas Redistricting
Texas redistricting is the Legislature’s redrawing of the lines for the state’s 38 U.S. House districts and its state legislative districts. It normally happens once a decade, after the census. In 2025, Texas redrew its congressional map a second time in the same decade, and that map is the one in use for the November 3, 2026 election.
The 2025 map was drawn to turn five Democratic-held districts Republican. Our national redistricting explainer shows which other states redrew for 2026.
Key facts
- The 2025 map targets districts 9, 28, 32, 34 and 35, all held by Democrats (LLS).
- A federal court blocked it on November 18, 2025 as a likely racial gerrymander.
- The Supreme Court stayed that ruling, then reversed it on April 27, 2026 (Houston Public Media).
- In 2024, Republicans won 58.41% of the U.S. House vote in Texas and 65.8% of the seats.
What the Supreme Court Did With the Texas Map
The Supreme Court let Texas use its 2025 map for the 2026 elections. On December 4, 2025, it paused a lower court’s order blocking the map, with Justices Kagan, Sotomayor and Jackson dissenting (docket 25A608). On April 27, 2026, it summarily reversed that order, “for the reasons set forth” in the December stay, again over the same three dissents (CBS Austin).
The lower court, a three-judge panel in El Paso, had found after a hearing that ran from September 1 to October 3, 2025 that the map “unjustifiably relied predominantly based on race” (LLS). The Brennan Center described the map as “aggressively redrawn to target the seats of five Black and Latino members of Congress,” quoting the decision (Brennan Center).
The reversal did not end the case. A summary reversal decides the appeal without full briefing or a written opinion. The trial on the 2021 maps, heard in May and June 2025, still awaits a ruling, and the challenges to the 2025 map are headed toward trial.
Race is the fight because of an earlier ruling. In Rucho v. Common Cause (2019), the Supreme Court held that federal courts cannot hear claims that a map is too partisan (Cornell LII). A map drawn for party advantage is legal in federal court; a map that sorts voters mainly by race is not.
What the 2025 Texas Map Changed
Texas Republicans already held a larger share of the state’s House seats than of its votes. In 2024, Republican candidates won 58.41% of the statewide U.S. House vote and 25 of 38 seats, or 65.8%, a gap of 7.4 points. The 2025 map was drawn to raise that to 30 seats.
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| 2024 statewide vote for Republican House candidates | 58.41% |
| 2024 seats won under the 2021 map (25 of 38) | 65.8% |
| Seats the 2025 map was drawn to produce (30 of 38) | 78.9% |
Sources: 2024 statewide totals from the Texas Secretary of State; districts targeted per LLS and reporting on the plan. Statewide totals include uncontested races, which understate the losing party's support.
Statewide vote totals are a rough yardstick, because some districts had no candidate from one party. The 2025 map was drawn to widen the gap between the two.
- 5
- Democratic-held districts the 2025 map targeted
- 38
- Texas seats in the U.S. House
- 241 days
- from the governor signing the map to the Supreme Court's final order
How the 2025 Texas Redraw Happened
Governor Greg Abbott opened a special session on July 21, 2025, and Democrats left the state on August 3 to block it. They returned on August 18, when a second session began. The Legislature passed the map as HB 4 on August 23, Abbott signed it on August 29, and the court fight ran from November 2025 to April 2026.
- Special session opens with redistricting on the agenda
- House Democrats leave Texas to deny a quorum
- Democrats return as a second session opens
- Legislature passes the map, HB 4
- Federal court blocks the map
- Supreme Court pauses that ruling
- Supreme Court reverses; map stands for 2026
Sources: Texas Legislative Council; All About Redistricting (LLS); Supreme Court dockets 25A608 and 25-845.
: July 21, 2025: Special session opens with redistricting on the agenda. Aug. 3, 2025: House Democrats leave Texas to deny a quorum. Aug. 18, 2025: Democrats return as a second session opens. Aug. 23, 2025: Legislature passes the map, HB 4. Nov. 18, 2025: Federal court blocks the map. Dec. 4, 2025: Supreme Court pauses that ruling. April 27, 2026: Supreme Court reverses; map stands for 2026.
July 21, 2025: The first special session opened. Abbott added congressional redistricting after a Justice Department letter raised concerns about four majority-minority districts (Texas Tribune).
August 3, 2025: Most House Democrats left the state. The Texas Constitution requires two-thirds of each house to be present to do business (art. III, sec. 10), so their absence stopped the House.
August 18, 2025: Most Democrats returned after the first session expired, as the second special session began.
August 23, 2025: The Legislature passed HB 4, the map the Texas Legislative Council lists as PLANC2333 (TLC). Abbott signed it on August 29.
November 18, 2025: The three-judge court blocked the map for 2026 and ordered Texas back to its 2021 map (Texas Tribune).
December 4, 2025: The Supreme Court paused that order, so the 2025 map governed the March 3, 2026 primaries.
April 27, 2026: The Supreme Court reversed the lower court’s order, and the map stands for November.
How Texas Draws Congressional and Legislative Maps
In Texas, the Legislature draws the lines and the governor signs them, like any other bill. There is no independent commission. For state House and Senate seats, a backup body steps in if the Legislature fails to act after the census.
How a Texas district map becomes law
- After each census Legislature drafts maps Committees in each chamber propose plans, usually in a regular or special session, and hold public hearings.
- Session vote Both chambers pass the plan Two-thirds of each house must be present for a vote, which is why a walkout can delay it.
- Governor Signed like any other bill If the Legislature fails to draw state legislative maps, the Legislative Redistricting Board draws them instead.
- Months to years Courts hear challenges Voters and groups sue under the Constitution and the Voting Rights Act. Maps can be blocked, redrawn by a court, or upheld.
Sources: Texas Legislative Council; Texas Constitution art. III, sec. 10 and 28.
Texas Maps and the Voting Rights Act
Texas maps have been in court in nearly every decade since the 1970s. In White v. Regester (1973), the Supreme Court upheld a ruling against multimember districts in Dallas and Bexar counties that diluted Black and Mexican American votes (Cornell LII). In LULAC v. Perry (2006), it struck down the 2003 mid-decade map’s version of District 23 under the Voting Rights Act, finding it took away Latino voters’ opportunity to elect their candidate (Cornell LII).
Until 2013, Texas needed federal approval before changing any voting rule, under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. Shelby County v. Holder ended that requirement (Cornell LII), and in Abbott v. Perez (2018) the Court upheld most of Texas’s 2013 maps, 5-4 (Cornell LII). Our Voting Rights Act explainer covers what Section 2 still protects.
Where the Texas map fight stands
As of September 27, 2026
- 2025 congressional map (PLANC2333) Law, in use for 2026
Governs the November 3, 2026 election after the Supreme Court reversed the order blocking it. (source)
- Order blocking the 2025 map Ended
Summarily reversed on April 27, 2026 (No. 25-845), over three dissents. (source)
- LULAC v. Abbott, claims against the 2025 map In litigation
Headed toward trial in the Western District of Texas. (source)
- LULAC v. Abbott, claims against the 2021 maps In litigation
Tried in May and June 2025; no ruling yet. (source)
How to Find Your Texas District
Your district for November 3, 2026 may not match the one you voted in during 2024. Look it up by address before you vote.
- Enter your address in the Legislature’s Who Represents Me tool to see your U.S. House, state Senate and state House districts.
- Compare the old and new lines in DistrictViewer, the Texas Legislative Council’s map tool.
- Check your registration and polling place with your county elections office. Our voter registration guide lists Texas’s October 5 deadline.
Did the Texas redistricting pass?
Yes. The Legislature passed the congressional map as HB 4 on August 23, 2025, and Governor Abbott signed it on August 29. It is the map for the November 3, 2026 election.
Was the Texas redistricting court ordered?
No. The Legislature chose to redraw. A federal court blocked the new map in November 2025, but the Supreme Court paused and then reversed that order.
When do the new Texas districts take effect?
For voters, now: the 2026 primaries and the November 3 election use the new lines. Members elected under them take office in January 2027. Until then, members elected in 2024 keep the districts drawn in 2021.
Is gerrymandering legal in Texas?
Drawing lines for party advantage is not something federal courts will review, after Rucho v. Common Cause (2019). Drawing lines mainly by race, or diluting minority votes, can still violate the Constitution or the Voting Rights Act. The gerrymandering explainer explains the difference.
What You Can Do
- Look up your new district. Use Who Represents Me and check who is running there on November 3.
- Register by October 5. It is the Texas deadline for the November 3, 2026 election. Our voter registration guide shows how.
- Follow the trial. The challenges to the 2025 map continue in federal court in El Paso; All About Redistricting tracks every filing.
- Testify when maps are drawn. Redistricting committees hold public hearings. Sign up to speak or submit written testimony through Texas Legislature Online.
- Ask for an independent process. Texas has no redistricting commission. Ask your state legislators to create one; our letter-writing guide shows how.