Redistricting Cases that Could Impact the 2026 Midterms
Though the 2024 election has passed, many ongoing redistricting cases could still have significant impacts on voting rights in a number of states. The 2026 midterm election may seem far away, but these cases — especially the ones involving congressional districts — could affect whether voters are properly represented and could even impact election outcomes.
The margin between Democrats and Republicans in the House is so narrow that in 2026, even one district being redrawn could significantly impact the election.
Arkansas
Christian Ministerial Alliance v. Thurston
Background
In 2020, Arkansas State Sen. Joyce Elliott (D) ran in the state’s 2nd Congressional District — coming closer to being elected than any Black congressional candidate in Arkansas since at least 2000. Then, in 2021, after the 2020 census results were released, the state created a new map — splitting up that majority-Black district.
A pro-voting group and several Black voters sued to challenge the new map, arguing it was a racial gerrymander and that the plan “cracks” Pulaski County’s “large and politically effective Black Community” and divides those voters amongst three of the state’s four other districts.
The plaintiffs not only asked a court to block the current map, but also to subject Arkansas to preclearance — under Section 3 of the Voting Rights Act — which would require them to submit all future redistricting plans for review by a court or the U.S. attorney general.
What’s Next
A federal district court has scheduled a bench trial for the case to begin on March 24, 2025.
Alabama
Allen v. Milligan
Background
Democrat Shomari Figures was elected to the U.S. House during the November election, and he will represent Alabamans in a brand new majority-Black district. This district exists because of court actions in Allen v. Milligan. But, the case isn’t over and since Figures is up for reelection in 2026, the outcome could affect his chances to hold on to the seat.
The U.S. Supreme Court weighed in on this case in June 2023, affirming a lower court’s decision to block the state’s unfair congressional map. For this past election, a court-appointed special master drew the congressional districts, and there were two majority-Black districts instead of just one.
What’s Next
A federal trial is set to begin in the case on Feb. 10 to determine whether the state will have two majority-Black congressional districts in future elections such as the 2026 midterms.
Florida
Black Voters Matter Capacity Building Institute v. Byrd
Background
Floridians voted under a congressional map in the 2024 election that voting rights groups argued unconstitutionally diminished the power of Black voters. However, that could change for the 2026 election based on what happens in Black Voters Matter Capacity Building Institute v. Byrd.
In April 2022, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) pushed a congressional map through the state legislature that eliminated the historically Black-performing 5th Congressional District containing Jacksonville and Tallahassee.
A trial court struck down the map in September 2023, but a few months later, a conservative state appeals court reversed the ruling, leaving the districts in place for 2024. The plaintiffs appealed the decision to the Florida Supreme Court, which heard the case in September.
What’s Next
Florida’s highest court will rule on the case, either striking down or upholding DeSantis’ congressional map, which was used in November’s election.
Georgia
Pendergrass v. Raffensperger
Background
Georgia voters have been fighting for a fair congressional map in court since 2021 when they alleged that the state legislature diluted the voting strength of people of color. They argued that since the 2020 census reflected a significant growth in Georgia’s Black population, the legislature should’ve added a majority-Black district in the Atlanta metropolitan area.
In October 2023, a federal district court judge struck down the congressional map, ordering the state to redraw it for the 2024 election. The state appealed this decision to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Meanwhile, in December 2023, the court upheld the new map that the Republican legislature was ordered to draw. However, the plaintiffs argued that the new map still didn’t provide fair representation to Black voters, so they appealed the court’s decision to approve that map. That map was used in the 2024 election, but if their appeal is successful, the state’s congressional map could change for 2026.
What’s Next
Two appeals are simultaneously ongoing in this case. Oral argument in the appeal from the state will be heard Jan. 23 in the 11th Circuit. There is no hearing scheduled in the plaintiffs’ appeal to the 11th Circuit.
Louisiana
Callais v. Landry
Background
In January, the Louisiana legislature enacted a new congressional map after the previous map was struck down by a federal court, which ruled that it violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) and ordered the implementation of a new map with two majority-Black districts.
In a departure from other redistricting cases, the “non-African American” voters who brought the lawsuit in Callais v. Landry challenged a map with multiple Black-majority districts, arguing that it was racially gerrymandered and violated their right to vote under the 14th and 15th amendments of the U.S. Constitution.
A federal district court agreed with their claims, striking down the map in April, but after the state appealed the decision, the U.S. Supreme Court temporarily paused the ruling ahead of the 2024 election.
What’s Next
The state, along with Black voters, asked the Supreme Court to weigh in on the case to determine what congressional map could be used in future elections. The court agreed to hear the case in 2025, but an oral argument date has not been set yet.
North Carolina
Williams v. Hall
Background
North Carolina’s congressional map enacted in October 2023 “erases the gains made by voters of color in the 2020 and 2022 election cycles,” numerous Black and Latino voters argued in Williams v. Hall.
In the lawsuit, the voters specifically challenged four of the state’s congressional districts. They argued that the new map dismantled districts where minority voters had an equal opportunity to elect their preferred candidates and underscored North Carolina’s history of racial discrimination in voting and redistricting.
North Carolinians voted under this map for the 2024 election, but depending on what happens in this case, they may not in the next congressional election.
What’s Next
Litigation is ongoing in the district court, and one motion is before the court.
South Carolina
League of Women Voters of South Carolina v. Alexander
Background
On the heels of another South Carolina voting rights group losing its racial gerrymandering case in the U.S. Supreme Court in May, the League of Women Voters of South Carolina has been fighting for its partisan gerrymandering case at the state level.
The League of Women Voters chapter filed a lawsuit over the summer to challenge a congressional map enacted at the beginning of 2022, alleging that Republican legislators intentionally manipulated the state’s congressional districts to favor their political party.
The group asked a court to order the legislature to draw a new map that complies with state law and while this didn’t happen for the 2024 election, it still could for the midterms.
What’s Next
Litigation is ongoing, and no hearings are currently scheduled in the case.
Texas
League of United Latin American Citizens v. Abbott
Background
Nine different lawsuits were filed challenging Texas’ redistricting plans drawn with 2020 census data, arguing that the state’s congressional, legislative and board of education maps intentionally dilute the voting strength of Latino communities in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. They’ve all been consolidated into one case that began in 2021.
State legislators asked the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and then the U.S. Supreme Court to pause the case while they litigated whether they had to obey deposition subpoenas under legislative privilege, but they were denied by both courts. Litigation on this matter is ongoing in the district court and 5th Circuit.
One group of plaintiffs also went to the nation’s highest court, asking the justices to block the newly enacted state Senate map for the 2022 election because it was racially gerrymandered, but the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal. All of Texas’ maps were used in the 2024 election as well.
What’s Next
Litigation is ongoing in the district court, and the case has not yet gone to trial.
Utah
League of Women Voters of Utah v. Utah State Legislature
Background
The plaintiffs in League of Women Voters of Utah v. Utah State Legislature have two objectives: to have the Utah legislature enact a new congressional map for the 2026 election and to reinstate a 2018 ballot initiative that created an independent citizen redistricting commission.
In the 2022 lawsuit, the plaintiffs argued that the state’s congressional map was a partisan gerrymander that favors Republicans by splitting up non-Republican voters across districts in violation of the Utah Constitution. They said there should be a competitive district in the Salt Lake City area, where a Democrat at least has a chance of winning.
They also claimed that reinstating the citizen redistricting commission would help them achieve their goal of creating a fair map.
What’s Next
Litigation is ongoing in the case.