"Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has quickly appealed to the Supreme Court a ruling that the redistricting passed by lawmakers at the urging of President Trump violates the voting rights of minority communities. "Any claim that these maps are discriminatory is absurd and unsupported by the testimony offered during ten days of hearings," Abbott, a Republican, said in a statement. "This ruling is clearly erroneous and undermines the authority the U.S. Constitution assigns to the Texas Legislature by imposing a different map by judicial edict.""
"The map that was overruled had been drawn to give Republicans an advantage in flipping as many as five House seats held by Democrats. Judges determined it intentionally targeted Black and Latino voters in a way that would dilute their voting power, violating the federal Voting Rights Act. "To be sure, politics played a role in drawing the 2025 Map. But it was much more than just politics. Substantial evidence shows that Texas racially gerrymandered the 2025 Map," wrote the majority from a three-judge panel."
A three-judge federal panel placed a temporary block on the Republican-drawn 2025 Texas legislative map and ordered the state to use the prior maps from the last two elections. Judges concluded the overruled map was drawn to give Republicans an advantage of flipping up to five House seats and intentionally targeted Black and Latino voters, diluting their voting power and violating the federal Voting Rights Act. The panel wrote that substantial evidence shows racial gerrymandering beyond mere politics. Texas leaders, including Governor Abbott and Attorney General Paxton, announced plans to appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court.
Read at www.npr.org
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