The Supreme Court of the United States on Monday halted an attempt by New York courts to redraw a Republican-held congressional district ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
In a 6–3 ruling, the justices granted an emergency request to pause a state judge’s order targeting the district represented by Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, who has served New York’s 11th Congressional District since 2021 and won reelection in 2024 by a 28-point margin.
As described by The Hill, a state judge had ordered the district’s boundaries to be redrawn after concluding it diluted Black and Latino voting strength in violation of the state constitution. The Supreme Court’s order temporarily blocks that ruling while litigation continues, effectively restoring the existing district lines for the upcoming midterms.
The Court said the stay will remain in effect while appeals proceed through New York’s state courts and until a petition is filed asking the justices to take up the case. The stay would end if the Court declines to hear the case or, if it does, after it issues a final decision.
Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson would have denied Malliotakis’ request.
Justice Samuel Alito wrote a concurring opinion sharply criticizing the New York judge’s order, calling it an action “that blatantly discriminates on the basis of race.” He noted that the New York Supreme Court — the state’s trial-level court — had instructed the Independent Redistricting Commission to draw a new district specifically to ensure that minority voters could elect their preferred candidate.
“That is unadorned racial discrimination,” Alito wrote, saying it violates the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause except in the most extraordinary circumstances. He added that neither of the limited justifications for race-based government action applied in this case.
In dissent, Sotomayor, joined by Kagan and Jackson, accused the majority of overstepping its authority and interfering prematurely in a dispute grounded in state law.
“By granting these applications, the Court thrusts itself into the middle of every election-law dispute around the country,” Sotomayor wrote, warning that the ruling could encourage litigants to bypass state courts and seek emergency relief directly from the Supreme Court.
The decision is the latest in a series of redistricting cases reaching the high court ahead of the 2026 midterms. In recent months, the justices have also allowed new congressional maps in states like Texas and California to take effect, changes that are expected to strengthen the position of each state’s dominant party in the next election cycle.
