Dallas Morning News: Justice Department sues to block gerrymandered Texas congressional map

[TexasTowelie]

Posting this article since it provides additional context and historical background relating to the action taken by DOJ.


WASHINGTON — The Biden administration sued Texas on Monday to block its new congressional map, accusing the state of gerrymandering to shut out non-whites in violation of federal voting rights law.

Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the enforcement action at Justice Department headquarters, saying the redistricting plans Texas adopted in recent months “deny or abridge the rights of Latino and Black voters to vote on account of their race, color, or membership in a language minority group.”

“Discriminatory redistricting schemes are illegal,” he said.

A federal court will weigh whether to halt the use of these maps for Texas’ 2022 elections. Blocking the maps could inject chaos into the March 1 primaries. Candidates have been filing since Nov. 13, with a deadline next Monday at 6 p.m. Federal courts have ordered tweaks after previous rounds of redistricting, which can prompt delays or at least compress the time for campaigning once the dust settles.

Texas gained two U.S. House seats after the 2020 Census, more than any other state. And both were drawn with white voting majorities, even though the white share of Texas’ population slipped in the past decade, and whites accounted for just 4.7% of growth.

Read more: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2021/12/06/justice-department-accuses-texas-of-voting-rights-violations-in-gerrymandering/