POLITICS: High Court Orders Review of Texas House Seats, page 1

In a move that has huge implications on the future of the balance of power in the House of Representatives, the Supreme Court has ordered a lower court to reconsider political districts in Texas. The battle over the issue became so raucous that the Democrats actually went to Oklahoma in order to postpone any decisions on the matter.

story.news.yahoo.com
WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court on Monday ordered a lower court to reconsider a Texas congressional map that could give Republicans six more seats in Congress in upcoming elections and help the GOP protect its majority

The announcement is a victory for Democrats, but will not affect next month"s elections.

Justices threw out a victory for Texas Republican legislators, who had been accused of going far to draw new congressional boundaries after two out-of-state walkouts by Democrats.

States must redraw boundaries every 10 years to reflect population shifts found during the census. Five appeals over the Texas boundary-drawing posed an interesting question: Can political leaders of a Legislature force district drawing more frequently than once a decade, to make more seats winnable for members of their party?

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The ruling is considered a victory for Texas Democrats, but will not be decided in time to impact the elections, potentially giving the Republicans 6 more seats in the House as things stand. Redistricting must occur ever ten years following the census to reflect any changes or migrations in population. The courts felt that political parties had become too involved in the decisions that had been made. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay has been reprimanded by the House Ethics Committee for his involvement in the issue.

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