A decade of Supreme Court rulings have given states increasingly unfettered power in redistricting

For now, the Voting Rights Act imposes some restraints on how congressional districts can be drawn. But the Supreme Court has also signaled it could further weaken the landmark law that protects minority voters.

WASHINGTON — In June 2019, the Supreme Court swept aside the idea that federal courts could rein in state lawmakers' power to draw legislative maps designed primarily to entrench their own party's power.

The ruling, a 5-4 split along ideological lines with conservative justices in the majority, made it clear that partisan gerrymandering was here to stay, absent states taking matters into their own hands or the unlikely scenario of Congress' stepping in to impose some sort of national ban.

Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts said simply that federal courts had no authority to intervene on the issue, even if it means election outcomes can "seem unjust."

With technological advances making it increasingly easy to surgically draw districts to maximize partisan advantages, both Republican and Democratic states have continued the practice.

That is now on view in Texas as Republicans plan to redraw congressional maps to further extend their dominance in the state and insulate against possible Democratic gains nationwide in the 2026 midterm elections, which will determine control of the House of Representatives for the final two years of President Donald Trump's term.