A panel of federal judges on Tuesday blocked Texas from using its new congressional map in next year’s midterm elections, saying the new lines were likely unconstitutional racial gerrymanders.

The 2-1 opinion from Judge Jeffrey V. Brown of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, joined by Judge David C. Guaderrama of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, directed the state to use the first map it adopted in 2021 after the 2020 census.

Brown wrote in the opinion that the state this year likely used race to draw the lines of four of the five most changed congressional districts in the new map. The Texas Legislature targeted five Democrat-held seats and kicked off a wave of tit-for-tat redistricting efforts nationwide.

“The public perception of

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