AFPI Applauds Supreme Court Stay in Texas Redistricting Case
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The America First Policy Institute (AFPI) today praised the U.S. Supreme Court for issuing a stay in Abbott v. League of United Latin American Citizens, allowing Texas to proceed with its duly enacted 2025 congressional map. AFPI represented numerous senior elections officials across Texas during the appeals process, after the lower court left Texas counties with impossible choices and unattainable deadlines.
AFPI, on behalf of six senior Texas election officials, urged the Court to restore clarity and prevent conflicting legal mandates that left public servants in untenable positions. The district court’s injunction created a no-win scenario, ordering election officials to administer elections under a repealed map that no longer exists under Texas law, while ignoring the real-world deadlines and legal obligations of state officials. SCOTUS agreed, finding that Texas is likely to prevail on the merits and that the lower court failed to apply governing legal standards.
“This is a victory for common sense and constitutional discipline,” said Leigh Ann O’Neill, AFPI’s Chief Legal Affairs Officer. “Our clients were facing the impossible — follow state law and risk contempt of court or obey the injunction and risk criminal liability. SCOTUS rightly stepped in to prevent irreparable harm.”
In its reply brief, Texas cited AFPI's amicus brief three times to help establish the irreparable harm inflicted by the lower court's decision. In issuing its order, the Court relied on that reasoning, saying: "Texas has also made a strong showing of irreparable harm and that the equities and public interest favor it… The District Court improperly inserted itself into an active primary campaign, causing much confusion and upsetting the delicate federal-state balance in elections."
“When federal courts impose vague or contradictory election orders, it undermines trust and destabilizes the rule of law,” said Ken Blackwell, Chair for Election Integrity at AFPI. Because the lower court improperly inserted itself into active primary campaigns, just days before the Texas filing deadline, and tried to stop months of hard work by Texas’s elections officials, SCOTUS had to step in.
AFPI will continue to support litigation efforts that uphold constitutional process and ensure election integrity without judicial overreach.