The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision on Alabama's voting maps has breathed new life into lawsuits challenging Texas' 2021 redistricting.
Texas' Republican-drawn maps are facing several legal challenges over alleged discrimination and gerrymandering.
"The decision from Alabama could require drawing another what's called a majority-minority district, which is a majority district that favors an Hispanic or African-American candidate," says Josh Blackman at South Texas College of Law Houston.
Time is of the essence with the 2024 presidential election looming.
"The Legislature could go into special session to draw maps or the courts could draw the maps themselves. Or the courts could appoint someone to draw the maps. So, no matter what happens, there might be new maps that have to be drawn," says Blackman.
Similar lawsuits were filed over 2011 election maps in Texas, but it wasn't until 2018 when the Supreme Court upheld those maps.