A panel of three federal judges has blocked Texas from using a new congressional map that Republicans drew in hopes of picking up five U.S. House seats. That map had touched off a nationwide redistricting battle and is a major piece of President Donald Trump's efforts to preserve a slim Republican majority ahead of the 2026 elections. In a 2-1 ruling Tuesday, a panel of federal judges in El Paso sided with opponents who argued that Texas' unusual summer redrawing of congressional districts would harm Black and Hispanic residents. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott vowed a swift appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court and defended the map.

Bomb threats to New Jersey polling stations, a voter roll mishap in Pennsylvania potentially affecting thousands of voters and warnings by President Donald Trump against California's mail balloting system is marking the final day of voting in an off-year election with several nationally prominent races. Voting otherwise appeared to be going smoothly Tuesday across the U.S., as voters cast ballots in the first significant election since Trump won the White House for a second time. Trump often warns of election rigging, and that was the case Tuesday when he posted to social media about voting in California's congressional redistricting measure. He said without providing evidence of any widespread problems that the process was "under very serious legal and criminal review."