What remap ruling means to U.S. politics

What remap ruling means to U.S. politics
Top court gives GOP likely boost; 1 Texas district must change

By Naftali Bendavid
Washington Bureau
Published June 29, 2006

WASHINGTON -- A Supreme Court decision Wednesday that largely upheld Texas' disputed congressional map is likely to provide a symbolic boost for Republicans, keep the Democratic goal of retaking the House elusive and ensure that the political legacy of former Rep. Tom DeLay will live on despite his downfall.

At the same time, the court found that one of the new districts created under the plan violated the Voting Rights Act by removing 100,000 Latinos from the district and will have to be redrawn, possibly before the November election. That small victory for Democrats could complicate congressional races in Texas, although the specific impact will remain unclear until a lower court acts.

The decision means that state legislators will have the ability to remap districts more than once every 10 years when census numbers change the allotment of House members based on population. But it was uncertain whether states would soon be altering the boundaries of congressional districts.

The Texas redistricting fight has taken on a symbolic and emotional importance, in addition to its political significance, ever since DeLay (R-Texas), the former U.S. House majority leader and a despised figure among liberals, prompted the GOP-controlled Texas Legislature to take the unprecedented step in 2003 of redrawing a post-2000 Census congressional map.

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