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The fate of Texas’ and perhaps California’s recent redistricting — and thus the political composition of the House of Representatives after the 2026 midterm elections — turns on a principle of law that’s never made much sense before and makes absolutely no sense now.

The “Purcell principle” states that federal courts cannot impose changes in election rules too soon before an election, even by finding them unconstitutional. As applied here it would mean that state governments could effectively change election systems just before voting day, in blatantly unconstitutional ways, and no court would be able to stop it. That just can’t be right.

The context of this spurs from when the Tex

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