Biden administration sues Texas over alleged voting rights violations in new district maps

Biden administration officials said Monday that the new political maps approved by Texas lawmakers this fall violate federal voting rights laws by intentionally diluting the voting power of Black and Latino residents in the state.

Attorney General Merrick Garland said this allegation is at the center of a legal challenge filed Monday against the state by the Department of Justice, which seeks to compel state lawmakers to devise new plans that comply with federal law.

“Discriminatory redistricting schemes are illegal,” Garland said.

Read more: Texas Democrats allege discrimination, challenge redistricting measures in 3 new lawsuits

The lawsuit is the latest in a series of legal challenges filed against the new U.S. House, Texas Senate, Texas House and State Board of Education maps — all of which claim the new districts violate the federal Voting Rights Act by limiting the voting power of people of color.

Under the Voting Rights Act, state lawmakers cannot draw districts that deny nonwhite communities the chance to elect a candidate of their choice. This means that, although lawmakers are not allowed to use race as the primary factor when drawing new maps, they are expected to protect or create opportunity districts for voters of color to account for population changes.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was unfazed by the announcement, tweeting: "I'm certain Texas will prevail!"

His office tweeted: "The Department of Justice's absurd lawsuit against our state is the Biden Administration's latest ploy to control Texas voters. I am confident that our legislature's redistricting decisions will be proven lawful, and this preposterous attempt to sway democracy will fail."

At a news conference on Monday, U.S. Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta said the state’s new maps demonstrate "overall disregard for the massive minority population growth" in the state. Texas added 4 million residents over the past decade, and 95% of that population growth was driven by people of color.

“Our investigation determined that Texas’ redistricting plans will dilute the increased minority voting strength that should have developed from these significant demographic shifts,” she said.

Read more: How GOP mapmakers created safe havens for Central Texas Republicans

'Blind to race'

The state's population growth resulted in Texas gaining two congressional seats upon the release of 2020 census data. Lawmakers drew one in Austin and the other in Houston and both have a majority of white, non-Hispanic eligible voters.

Republican lawmakers have said that the maps were drawn “blind to race" and that other factors had a bigger effect on the final districts, including the political leanings of voters in different areas. A review of the maps by the American-Statesman found that the new districts solidify Republican power and reduce the number of competitive districts across the state.

Under the new U.S. House and Texas House maps, the number of districts where Hispanic and Black voters constitute the majority of the electorate declined, considering the most recent population figures for the districts.

Of the state's 38 U.S. House seats, seven will have a Hispanic majority (down from eight) and none will have a Black majority (down from one). Of the 150 Texas House seats, 30 will have a Hispanic majority (down from 33) and 25 will have a Black majority (down from 27).

23rd District

The Biden administration's lawsuit focuses on the state's congressional and statehouse maps, including one district in particular: the 23rd Congressional District in West Texas, which stretches from El Paso to San Antonio along the U.S.-Mexico border. Lawyers for the federal government argued that lawmakers "intentionally eliminated a Latino electoral opportunity" by switching voters and splitting precincts to ensure that the district was controlled by white voters.

Lawmakers are tasked with redrawing political maps every decade, after the release of the decennial census, ensuring that districts have roughly equal populations and that the lines do not discriminate against people of color.

This year was the first time in decades that Texas finalized its new political maps without federal oversight, a protection initially implemented because of the Legislature's history of drawing maps designed to discriminate against people of color.

Garland on Monday urged congressional leaders to reinstate his agency's authority to review the state's proposals before they are finalized.

"Were that preclearance tool still in place, we would likely not be here today announcing this complaint," he said.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: DOJ sues Texas, alleging discrimination of voters of color