Perry v. Perez, et al
Perry v. Davis, et al
Perry v. Perez, et al
The United States Supreme Court has agreed to hear Texas officials' appeal of a controversial new redistricting plan. On Friday, the Court issued an order blocking use of the redistricting maps recently created by a federal judicial panel and setting oral argument for January 9, 2012. The Order issued by the Court on Friday effectively prevents Texas candidates from filing for office until a resolution is reached because of the uncertainty of which district the candidates may ultimately reside in and likely will result in a delay in primaries which are currently scheduled for March. Due to the time-sensitive nature of the issues raised, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbot asked the Supreme Court to intervene on an expedited basis last week.
The dispute over redistricting in Texas is especially contentious this year given the four new Texas congressional seats at issue. In fact, the map currently at issue isn't the first map to be challenged in the state this year. Democrats previously challenged the original map which was drawn by the Republican-led Texas legislature resulting in a federal judicial panel re-drawing the maps. Abbot now argues in the appeal that the new map is "fatally flawed" and should never be used in Texas elections.
While every state is required to redraw their district maps every ten years after the Census, Texas is one of only a handful of states required to have its district maps approved by the United States Justice Department under the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
