On Friday, New Mexico District Judge Fred T. Van Soelen dismissed a Republican challenge to the state’s congressional map that claimed the map disproportionately favors Democratic candidates. This case was processed in the New Mexico County of Lea Fifth Judicial District Court.
Judge Soelen concluded that the congressional map does not infringe upon Article II, Section 18 of the New Mexico Constitution, which is the state’s equal protection provision. Under New Mexico law, a congressional map is only considered impermissible gerrymandering if it constitutes an “egregious” gerrymander. Judge Soelen affirmed that, despite the map resulting in dilution of the Republican vote, it does not amount to an egregious gerrymander. Consequently, he ruled that the map is constitutional.
Republicans initiated a lawsuit in January 2022 after the New Mexico legislature passed SB 1, introducing the contested congressional map. The plaintiffs alleged that the map illegally diluted the votes of residents in southeastern New Mexico and requested the court to rule that the map was unconstitutional and craft a “partisan-neutral” one for subsequent elections.
Republicans will probably appeal this decision, given that this case has previously reached the New Mexico Supreme Court. Early in the litigation, the court held that a gerrymandering claim was “justiciable” under the New Mexico Constitution. “Justiciability” in legal terminology pertains to a court’s ability to hear an issue.
This dispute is not the only gerrymandering litigation in the United States pending ahead of the forthcoming election cycles. Earlier this week, a three-judge panel in Alabama selected a new congressional district map following a lawsuit asserting that the state legislature’s congressional map was racially gerrymandered. This decision was made only a few weeks after the US Supreme Court dismissed a petition from the state government seeking an appeal on a court order prohibiting the use of gerrymandered congressional maps in Alabama elections.