DOJ sues Texas over redistricting maps
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department on Monday sued Texas for the second time in a month over voting-related concerns, this time alleging that Republican state lawmakers discriminated against Latinos and other minorities when they approved new congressional and state legislature districts that increased the power of white voters.
Attorney General Merrick Garland’s announcement marked the department’s first major legal action on redistricting.
It comes at a time when the U.S. House is narrowly controlled by Democrats, some GOP-controlled state legislatures are tightening voting restrictions, and both parties are trying to draw maps to their own advantage.
While the Supreme Court has declined to put limits on partisan gerrymandering, drawing lines that unfairly disadvantage racial and ethnic minorities is illegal.
“This is not the first time Texas has acted to minimize the voting rights of its minority citizens. Decade after decade, Texas has enacted redistricting plans that violate the Voting Rights Act,” the Justice Department said in the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Western Division of Texas. “In enacting its 2021 Congressional and House plans, the State has again diluted the voting strength of minority Texans.”
The lawsuit named Texas Secretary of State John Scott as a defendant. A spokesman for Scott declined to comment and referred questions to the state’s attorney general, Ken Paxton.
Texas GOP leaders have previously said the congressional maps were approved by lawyers who determined the districts complied with voting rights laws.
But the maps have also drawn two legal challenges from advocacy groups , including one filed last month by a group affiliated with Eric Holder, who led the
Justice Department during the Obama administration.
Garland’s decision to pursue litigation comes just weeks after the Justice Department sued Texas over a separate law that federal officials say would disenfranchise eligible voters, including older Americans and people with disabilities, by banning 24-hour and drive-through voting and giving partisan poll watchers more access.
Texas lawmakers approved the new congressional boundaries in October after a redistricting process led by Republicans, who control the state Senate and House.