Last Updated January 2025
January 14, 2026: Tangipa, et al. v. Newsom, et al
On January 14, a three-judge California district court denied a request for a preliminary injunction seeking to block the use of the Proposition 50 congressional maps. By a 2–1, party-line vote, the court concluded that California likely did not engage in racial gerrymandering or violate Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act when voters adopted Proposition 50.
The dissenting judge disagreed, emphasizing that the central inquiry in a racial gerrymandering analysis is the intent of the mapmakers. According to the dissent, the record demonstrated that race was the predominant factor guiding the map-drawing process.
December 9, 2025: National Republican Senatorial Committee v. Federal Election Commission
On December 9, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in National Republican Senatorial Committee v. Federal Election Commission. The case challenges the constitutionality of statutory limits on how much political parties may spend in coordination with their candidates. The challengers argue that the coordinated party expenditure limits, imposed by the Federal Election Campaign Act, violate the First Amendment by restricting parties from working with their candidates to deliver a unified political message. A decision is expected by the end of the Court’s term in June.
December 4, 2025: Abbott v. League of United Latin American Citizens
On December 4, 2025, the United States Supreme Court granted, on its emergency docket, a stay of a three-judge district court’s preliminary injunction preventing the new Texas map for congressional seats from going into effect.
The court’s order indicated that “Texas is likely to succeed on the merits of its claim that the District Court committed at least two serious errors.” Moreover, it added, the lower court “improperly inserted itself into an active primary campaign, causing much confusion and upsetting the delicate federal-state balance in elections.”
November 10, 2025: Watson v. Republic National Committee
On November 10, 2025, US Supreme Court granted writ of certiorari to consider whether the specification in federal law of the “day” for holding a congressional or presidential “election” on “the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November” requires only that absentee ballots be cast by that “day” (meaning deposited in the mails and thus postmarked by that day), rather than requiring that these absentee ballots arrive at local election offices by that “day.” The Court granted a motion to extend the time to file the joint appendix and petitioner’s brief on the merits to January 2, 2026. The time to file respondents’ briefs on the merits is extended to February 9, 2026.