After saying that the differences between the state and those opposing the legislatures redistricting plan were "insurmountable," even though the two sides are not that off on some of the maps. The state's senatorial, state house and congressional district lines are at question in the lawsuit.

More on this story from The Texas Tribune.

The federal panel hearing the arguments Tuesday in San Antonio indicated that an April primary would be nearly impossible for the state. One judge suggested that Texas move its primary to the summer.

That of course would leave Texas with a diminished role in the Republican nomination for president. On the local front it also means candidates for county seats are in limbo.

The arguments over the state maps seem to also be putting on delay a Galveston federal panel's decision on Galveston County's county commissioner and justices of the peace/constables maps.

So if you are a candidate, patience is now a real virtue. If you're a voter, I wish I had better news.

Two federal court decisions connected to redistricting in Texas were handed down Friday. The Supreme Court of the United States rejected redistricting maps for congressional and state legislature lines a federal judges' panel in San Antonio created.

At about the same time, a three-judge panel here ruled that the county's redistricting maps could go forward. But the judges said if the department of justice doesn't act on those maps by Tuesday, they would step in again and find a "remedy" to challenges to the maps for constables and justices of the peace and the county commissioners precincts.

Confused?

You are not alone. The Supreme Court is not going to hear the state case until Jan. 9. That could threaten the March primaries. Some worry that the decision could push the primaries off to the summer.

Stay tuned, there's bound to be more confusion.

Just got this late tonight. I'll have a story in Saturday's online edition of The Daily News.

But quickly:

A federal panel ruled late Friday that the countys redistricting plans for redrawing the county commissioners precincts and reducing the justices of the peace and constable precincts from eight to five can go ahead for now. In a 2-1 decision the panel of three federal judges vacated the request for a temporary retraining order requested by two county commissioners and a group of constable and justices of the peace and ordered that parties allow the require pre-clearance process at the U.S. Justice Department go ahead.

"We find the action on the plaintiffs motion is premature until after the Dec. 13, 2011," judges Emilio M. Garza and Melinda Harmon wrote. "Any remedial action on our part before Dec. 13, 2011 would disregard the limited authority the Voting Rights Act grants us."

The decision came just minutes before the Supreme Court of the United States rejected maps drawn by a federal three judge panel in San Antonio for the states congressional and legislative lines. The Supreme Court wont hear that case until Jan. 9, which could delay the March primaries.

The Supreme Court of the United States issued an order Friday, blocking a state-redistricting map drawn up by federal judges in San Antonio.

Here's the story from the Associated Press:

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court has blocked the use of Texas state legislative and congressional district maps that were drawn by federal judges to boost minorities' voting power.

The court issued a brief order Friday that applies to electoral maps drawn by federal judges in San Antonio for the Texas Legislature and Congress. The justices say they will hear arguments in the case on Jan. 9.

Texas says that the judges overstepped their authority and should have taken into account the electoral maps that were drawn by the Republican-dominated Texas Legislature.

We will have a more detailed story in Saturday's edition of The Daily News. One immediate question we don't have an answer for is what impact this decision will have on the March primary elections.

Filing deadlines for office are next week. This could push the primary back. No official word on that, but it's a possibility given the January hearing before SCOTUS.

Another question we don't have answered is what impact this will have on the redrawn congressional districts in Galveston County (CD14 and CD22), which remained mostly unchanged in both the map drawn by the legislature and the one by the federal judges.

And what impact it will have on the state representative districts in our county, which also remained the same in both maps.

Meanwhile, we are still waiting on a federal panel's ruling on the county's redistricting maps for the county commissioner precincts and the justices of the peace and constables.

It's looking more and more likely that the state's redistricting lines for the state legislature and congressional districts will be drawn by federal judges.

This is from the Texas Tribune:

A federal court on Tuesday declined the state's request for a fast ruling, saying the state "used an improper standard or methodology" to figure out which districts gave minority voters an opportunity to elect their candidates of choice.

The ruling affects new redistricting maps for the 36 seats in Texas' congressional delegation, the 31 seats in the Texas Senate and the 150 seats in the Texas House.

That three-judge panel in Washington, D.C., will hold a trial on the maps to determine whether the state maintained the proper protections for minority voters. Because that will take some time, it probably means the March primaries will be conducted using maps drawn by a separate panel of three federal judges in San Antonio.

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