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Dallas Morning News: Texas’ new political maps are law, but redistricting court battles have just begun
By Sami Sparber/Dallas Morning News
AUSTIN — The court fights have already begun over Texas’ new political maps, which secure the GOP’s grip on power for the next decade but blunt the voting strength of nonwhite voters who fueled the state’s population surge.
The decennial redistricting process following a U.S. census is polarizing and typically leads to lawsuits in Texas. Lawmakers can draw maps in a way that benefits their party’s political future as long as they do not discriminate on the basis of race.
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Plaintiff: Fair Maps Texas Action Committee
What the lawsuit argues: A coalition of voting and civil rights groups and individual voters argued the redrawn congressional and legislative maps intentionally discriminate against communities of color, diluting their voting power in violation of the federal Voting Rights Act and U.S. Constitution.
The plaintiffs’ legal team, which includes the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas and the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, asked the federal court to block the plans from being used and to order new maps.
What’s next: The case was filed Nov. 16 in federal court in Austin.