() On Wednesday, a three-judge panel in El Paso, Texas, will take up a high-stakes lawsuit over the state’s new mid-decade congressional map.

The districts most affected are majority-minority districts, where racial minorities make up most of the voters.

Democrats and civil rights groups have pushed for the panel to block the map, citing concerns it “packs and cracks” districts to silence minority voices and dilute their voting power.

Texas Republicans have denied allegations of racial gerrymandering, arguing the new map reflects population growth in urban areas and that the redrawn lines are legally justified.

The map was passed by lawmakers in August and has been at the center of a political storm, as President Donald Trump looks to pick up more seats in Congress during the 2026 midterm elections.

The legal fight could shape control of the U.S. House in the final two years of Trump’s term.

The panel is expected to hear arguments for nine days, and any decision it issues can be appealed directly to the Supreme Court.

If the panel rejects the new map, it could reinstate the state’s 2021 congressional map or could order temporary district lines of its own. But the clock is ticking, as the filing period for 2026 Texas congressional candidates opens Nov. 8 with only a monthlong window.