How the Supreme Court’s limit on Voting Rights Act could impact Texas

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- Congressional districts have been at the forefront of political discussion for the past year. Texas had its share of the conversation with the re-drawing of the district map last year, and after Wednesday's Supreme Court ruling in Louisiana, it could re-enter the conversation.

In a 6-3 decision, the court’s conservative majority found that the Louisiana district represented by Democrat Cleo Fields relied too heavily on race. 

ABC-7 spoke with a law professor at the University of Houston, David Froomkin. He said that he believes that this opens the door for even more redistricting in the future.

"Number one, it makes it harder for plaintiffs to succeed in challenging the new map that went into effect last year," said Froomkin. "Number two, it may encourage the legislature to be even more ambitious in its gerrymandering efforts."

Froomkin said it might not impact the 2026 midterms, but there would definitely be a chance to impact the 2028 election in Texas.

"If we take the Supreme Court at its word, it's encouraging every state to engage in maximal partisan gerrymandering," said Froomkin.

ABC-7 will have a full report on the potential impacts of the court's ruling on ABC-7 at 10.