Alito temporarily reinstates Texas map

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito on Friday temporarily reinstated Texas’s congressional map that adds up to five GOP pickup opportunities until the high court rules on the state’s emergency appeal.

Alito’s order, known as an administrative stay, does not reflect the underlying merits of the map’s constitutionality.

But it temporarily allows Texas Republicans to keep using their GOP-friendly map as the candidate filing period remains underway.

Alito ordered the map challengers to respond in writing by Monday. The court is expected to issue a ruling afterwards that will determine if the map can be used for the midterms. 

In practical terms, Alito’s order means candidates will keep filing to run under the new map’s boundaries until the Supreme Court rules.

Alito received Texas’s appeal because he handles emergency requests arising from the state by default. He could act on state’s application alone or refer it to the full court for a vote.

Texas Republicans passed the new map earlier this year after pressure from President Trump to boost the GOP’s chances of keeping control of the House in the midterms. It sparked a mid-decade redistricting arms race that has led to new maps in places like California and North Carolina.

Earlier this week, a panel of federal judges ruled 2-1 that Texas’s new map was likely a racial gerrymander and blocked the state from using it.

It spurred Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) to file an emergency appeal at the Supreme Court earlier Friday evening.

“The confusion sown by the district court’s eleventh-hour injunction poses a very real risk of preventing candidates from being placed on the ballot and may well call into question the integrity of the upcoming election,” the application states.

Texas’s candidate filing period closes Dec. 8. Abbott has asked the justices to rule by Dec. 1.

Updated at 8:49 p.m. EST