The trial begins on Wednesday in the case of New Mexico’s Democrat-led legislature allegedly trying to dilute votes with a rigged redistricting map.
The state’s Republican Party alleges that a conservative oil-producing area’s votes were diluted under the new map.
New Mexico’s Democrat Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham’s attorneys had filed a slew of motions at the last minute to delay the proceedings, according to a report from the Associated Press. However, a judge will begin hearing the case as scheduled.
The governor’s lawyers had argued that the case would “significantly diminish their ability to defend the governor in a multitude of pending emergency lawsuits challenging her recent declarations of public health emergencies.”
AP reports:
In its court challenge, the Republican Party alleges that the new congressional map flouts traditional standards of redistricting that have held sway over the past three decades, dividing communities of common interest for political gain by Democrats.
Democratic lawmakers say new congressional boundaries were vetted appropriately through the political process to ensure more competitive districts that reflect population shifts, with deference to Native American communities.
The report explains, “U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez of Las Cruces edged out a first-term Republican in 2022 after the district was reshaped by Democrats to include portions of Albuquerque, while divvying the deep-red southeastern corner of the state among three districts, all currently held by Democrats.”
Democrats won all three congressional seats up for grabs in November and control every statewide elected office. The party also holds majorities in the state’s House and Senate and all of the five-member Supreme Court.
The trial is expected to last for three days.
