Halloween isn’t the only scary date on the calendar this month. Throughout October, courts will be weighing some questions that could have a major impact on the future of our elections and democracy. Anti-democratic actors are out to make it easier to restrict voting, discriminate against racial minorities, and gerrymander maps. But voting rights advocates aren’t backing down from the fight. Let’s take a look at some major cases coming up this month.

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October 1, 2025

Halloween isn’t the only scary date on the calendar this month. Throughout October, courts will be weighing some questions that could have a major impact on the future of our elections and democracy. Anti-democratic actors are out to make it easier to restrict voting, discriminate against racial minorities, and gerrymander maps. But voting rights advocates aren’t backing down from the fight. Let’s take a look at some major cases coming up this month.

— Ashley Cleaves, Legal Content Editor

We have a reporter on the ground in Texas right now covering the high-stakes fight over gerrymandering, so we can keep you informed in real-time — and it’s only possible because of reader support.

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Texas’ ghastly GOP gerrymander goes to court

- The first day of October kicks off a 10-day hearing over Texas’ new congressional map. It’s the first time that pro-voting advocates will face off against state election officials since the map was enacted in late August. Voters and pro-voting groups allege the new map is a racial gerrymander that reduces the ability of Black and brown voters to elect the candidates of their choice.

- President Donald Trump pressured Republicans to pass the map in hopes of preserving his GOP majority in Congress. As arguments begin in El Paso, the stakes couldn’t be higher. Our reporter Jen Rice will be at the courthouse to bring you all the news from the hearing.

SCOTUS hears two cases with terrifying implications

- In the first week of its term, the Supreme Court will hear a Republican challenge to Illinois’ extended ballot receipt deadline. The case is not about the legality of the deadline but the ability of federal candidates to challenge laws regulating federal elections. But that’s an important question.

- Republicans are arguing that federal candidates should always have standing to challenge election laws, regardless of whether they are specifically harmed by those rules. If the court agrees, it could open the floodgates to litigation brought by bad actors with the goal of restricting voting access.

- In its second week, the court will hear a dangerous challenge to Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA). Anti-voting parties are seeking to gut the VRA and make it more difficult for minority voters to challenge maps that reduce their voting power. An adverse ruling from the Supreme Court could have a drastic effect on minority representation in Congress, state legislatures and local government.

Republicans seek to bring some anti-voting cases back to life

- Republicans don’t take their losses well. That’s why they are back in court seeking to revive several anti-voting challenges. In Hawaii, they are asking the 9th Circuit to reverse a dismissal of a far-right lawsuit seeking access to Hawaii’s voter rolls.

- A conservative group in Vermont has also asked the state’s highest court to void the dismissal of a challenge to a city’s law allowing noncitizens to vote in certain elections.

- Later this month, the 8th Circuit will also hear arguments as another far-right group looks to renew its challenge to a pro-voting Minnesota law that seeks to combat election misinformation, voter intimidation and harassment.

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