Supreme Court orders Ninth Circuit to re-examine Washington Latino redistricting case
The U.S. Supreme Court vacated a lower-court ruling on Washington state's remedial map and sent the dispute back to the Ninth Circuit for review under the new standard set by Louisiana v. Callais.
The Supreme Court issued a short order on Monday that vacated the Ninth Circuit’s affirmation of a remedial redistricting plan in Washington state and remanded the case for further analysis. The petition, submitted by Republican lawmaker Jose Trevino and voter Alex Ybarra, contends that the court-drawn map dilutes Hispanic voting power and amounts to a racial gerrymander in violation of the equal protection clause. Their arguments build on a 2022 lawsuit that accused the legislature’s post-2020-census maps of fragmenting Latino voters in the Yakima Valley and creating a superficial “opportunity district.”
After a federal court ordered new maps in 2023, the voting-rights groups’ proposal was adopted in 2024, but the Supreme Court had previously declined to intervene. The high court now cites the April ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, which narrowed Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, as a reason to let lower courts apply the revised standard. State officials welcome the remand, saying the appellate courts must reassess the case under the new legal framework.
Why it matters
The decision could reshape how courts evaluate racial considerations in electoral districting across the United States.
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