Story at a glance
- Latino legal rights groups sued Texas state officials over redistricting maps.
- The lawsuit says the redrawn maps are unconstitutional.
- The group says the redrawn maps do not reflect the growth of the Latino community in the state, which has accounted for nearly half the population growth over the last decade.
A coalition of Latino Civil Rights groups has filed a lawsuit challenging new redistricting maps just approved by Texas Republicans Monday, alleging the newly adopted maps are unconstitutional and “dilute the voting strength of Latino voters.”
The lawsuit was filed by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, El Paso Division, on behalf of a group known as the Texas Latino Redistricting Task Force.
The federal lawsuit asks the federal court to toss out the maps on the grounds that they violate the Voting Rights Act. The group says the redrawn maps do not reflect the growth of the Latino community in the state, which has accounted for nearly half the population growth over the last decade.
The state will now have seven House districts where Latinos make up the majority, down from eight, according to The Associated Press.
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MALDEF notes that while Texas gained two congressional seats due to its population growth, lawmakers “failed to increase the current number of Latino-opportunity districts.”
“Despite having only recently been found liable by a federal court for intentional racial discrimination in redistricting, Texas has once again adopted plans that dilute Latino voting strength,” Nina Perales, MALDEF VP of Litigation, said in a release.
“The new redistricting plans are an unlawful attempt to thwart the changing Texas electorate and should be struck down,” Perales said.
Republicans have pushed back on such criticism, arguing they followed the law and the maps were “drawn blind to race.”
The lawsuit names Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and Texas Deputy Secretary of State Jose Esparza as defendants.
Abbott’s office did not immediately respond to Changing America’s request for comment.
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