( CNN ) -- Texas officials are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to step in and temporarily block a controversial congressional redistricting plan from going into effect Monday . The state 's attorney general , Greg Abbott , filed an emergency `` application '' with the justices , saying a map approved by a federal panel in San Antonio is `` fatally flawed . '' It would increase the number of districts dominated by minorities , especially Hispanic voters . The court-drawn map was imposed after Democrats and minority groups in Texas challenged the original plan approved by the GOP-led state legislature . Those seeking public office can begin filing their candidacies Monday , prompting the state 's time-sensitive appeal to the high court . `` Elections should not proceed based on legally flawed maps that are likely to be overturned on further review , '' Abbott said in a written statement . The Supreme Court could allow the court-approved plan to remain in effect for now , or order the judicial panel to redraw the map , a process that could shorten the time candidates would have to campaign . The state 's primary election is set for March . Texas is getting four new congressional seats -- more than any other state -- after the latest census showed its population grew by 4 million people . The plan drafted by the three-judge panel would give minorities the majority in three of those congressional districts , and could give Democrats more seats statewide . `` Ninety percent of the growth in this state in the last decade was minority growth , '' said Trey Martinez Fischer , a Democratic state representative . `` Sixty-five percent of that alone , Latino . So you would expect these new congressional districts would reflect the minority populations that created the opportunity . '' Fischer leads the Texas House Mexican American Legislative Caucus , the key plaintiff in the lawsuit against the legislature 's original map . Under state rules , redistricting plans approved by the legislature can be challenged in court , with judges having the power to craft alternate maps . Republicans in the state have a super-majority in the legislature , meaning they needed no Democratic support to pass their plan . A similar party split a decade ago led Democratic lawmakers to flee to neighboring Oklahoma in an effort to kill the 2000 redistricting bill . Abbott said the federal court 's plan is an unconstitutional intrusion into the legislative process . `` It seems apparent that the proposed map misapplies federal law and continues the court 's trend of inappropriately venturing into political policymaking rather than simply applying the law , '' Abbott said . `` Perhaps worst , in the name of protecting Hispanic voting power , the court seems to be discarding already elected Republican Hispanics in favor of drawing maps that may elect Democratic Hispanics . '' The state 's Republican governor , presidential candidate Rick Perry , supported the map passed by the legislature , but has not signed it into law while the plan is challenged in court . All states are required to redo their voting boundaries following the recently completed nationwide census , conducted once every 10 years . The court-approved plan in Texas will stay in effect until all the legal challenges are exhausted . The high court appeal is Perry v. Perez ( 11A520 ) .
A federal court panel drew the map after the state legislature 's map was challenged . Texas government officials say the federal plan is `` fatally flawed '' Texas is getting four new congressional seats .