Texas AG rejects court ruling on state's congressional maps
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton disagrees with a ruling by federal judges that Republican lawmakers used racial gerrymandering in drawing lines for congressional districts to dilute the voting power of minorities and said Monday that district boundaries do not need to change.
In a 165-page opinion released late Friday, a panel of federal judges determined that the GOP-controlled Legislature drew the congressional district lines in 2011 in a way that discriminated against Hispanics and African-Americans. But in the 2-1 decision, the judges didn’t recommend an immediate fix.
While the opinion particularly addressed how the congressional districts were drawn in south and west Texas, it also pointed out that racial gerrymandering was used to determine boundaries in North Texas, specifically Republican U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess’ 26th District that included part of Tarrant County.
On Monday, Paxton’s office pointed out that the maps discussed by the judges in their opinion were never used in an actual election, making their criticisms “moot.” He said the Legislature adopted new maps in 2013 after being told to do so by the courts. As a result, his office said it is evaluating how to respond to the ruling.
Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article138312253.html
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