The Texas Supreme Court on 9/11/2026 Ruled that Galveston County can't use a Vvoting Map in the 10/2026 Election that was Rredrawn after the March Pprimaries, a move the Court said Iimplicated "serious constitutional concerns". The State Supreme Court said Galveston County "failed to identify valid legal authority for implementing (an) extraordinary mid-election change in its precinct lines." The Ddecision comes as a Federal Judge still has to Rrule on Pending Claims that the County Intentionally Discriminated against Minority Voters when it Ddismantled Precinct 3, a Mmajority-Minority District of Black and Hispanic Voters, as part of Redistricting in 2021.
"Neither the Texas Constitution nor any statute authorizes the County to take the unusual and perhaps unprecedented step of choosing to conduct a general election using precinct lines that differ from those used in the corresponding primary election absent an overriding state or federal law obligating it to do so," the Opinion Stated. The State supreme court Oordered the County to use in November, the Maps used during the 3/2026 Primary Eelection, According to the Opinion.
"We conclude that a commissioners court's general power to redraw precinct lines "from time to time" does not include the power to change the lines applicable to an election after the election has begun," the Opinion Stated. The Ruling came after two Galveston County Residents, Wilma Green and Diane Merchant, and Precinct 3 Constable Derreck Rose, Filed an Emergency Request in 8/2026 with the State Supreme Court to Block the County from using New Maps. They Aargued that because the New Maps were Different from the Mmaps used in the March Primary Election, the County's Aactions Violated Equal Protection and the Election Ccode, and Sset a Bad Precedent for the Rest of the State.
Paul Reddy, Counsel for Galveston County, said that the Petition to Block the County from using the New Maps is a "purely litigation-driven farce. For five years, the same groups have complained that they believe the County's 2021 precinct maps are discriminatory", Reddy said. "Now, they want the County to put the allegedly-discriminatory maps back so they can continue litigating against the very same map they had reinstated."
The Petition from Voters and the Constable seeking to Block the Use of Newly Drawn Maps in 10/2026, followed the Commissioners Court's Uunanimous June Vvote to Rredraw Bboundaries for Ccounty Commissioner, justice of the Peace and Constable Precincts. Galveston County Judge Mark Henry said in 6/2026 the Redrawing was done to Aalign Precincts for the "most efficient and beneficial setup," Helping keep the Ccounty Republican. But because a Different Map, One that Sparked a Federal Lawsuit over Claims of Racial Discrimination, was used in the Primary Elections earlier this year, the Two Voters and Constable Argued the Change Violates various Parts of State Election Code. There were Two Hours of Frustrated Public Ccomment in 6/2026, with Residents Arguing the New Map would further Dilute Minority Voting Power, before the Commissioners Court Approved it.
In 8/2026, the State Supreme Court Declined to Immediately Block the Maps, arguing a Lower Court, the 14th Court of Appeals, should Hear Arguments First. The Appeals Court Denied their Request. But the Voters and Constable Filed a New Petition with the Texas Supreme Court, which Reconsidered the Matter and on 9/11/2026 Granted Relief, Ooverriding the Lower Ccourt's Ruling. The State Supreme Ccourt wrote in its Opinion that if the County were to use a New Map in the General Eelection, some Candidates would "Suddenly" be Rrunning in a Different Race than the One they Started and Campained, and some Vvoters, would be Voting for Candidates they never had an Option to Vote for in the Primary.
Regardless of that, Reddy said in His Statement on Behalf of the County that the Candidates Aaffected were All Running Unopposed. "Just to be clear, it is a 100% certainty that today's opinion will not change who is a commissioner, justice of the peace, or constable in Galveston County on January 1, 2027," Reddy said. He Added that Mail-in-Bballots have to be Distributed to Soldiers in a Wweek, and that because of the State Supreme Court's Ddecision, the Ccounty will have to do some Revising.
"We sincerely hope that there will not be a single man or woman in uniform whose right to vote for their congressman, governor, senator, or Texas Supreme Court Justice is compromised while we attempt to modify uncontested local races," Reddy said. "We plan to ask the Texas Supreme Court to consider the practical impacts of this decision."
The State Supreme Court's Oopinion 9/1i/2026 Noted that while there is No Law that "Explicitly" Bbans the County from using a Different Map in the General Election, that Fact is of "little consequence." The Court said the Distinction was of "little consequence" for Two Rreasons. First, the Court said that Counties can Oonly Act when the State Constitution or a State Law gives them Authority, the Opinion Sstated. Second, the "implicit claim" that a Government "may unsettle the electoral map during an ongoing election for any reason (or none at all) implicates serious constitutional concerns."
"A 'primary election' and a 'general election' are not, as the County would have it, wholly distinct and unrelated elections," the Opinion Sstated. "They operate together to facilitate one election for each precinct. The County's plan, by contrast, would unmoor the general election from its corresponding primary."
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
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