The U.S. Justice Division sued the southwestern state of Texas on Monday, alleging that Republican state lawmakers discriminated in opposition to Latinos and different minorities by redrawing new congressional and state legislative districts to extend the voting energy of white Texans.
Lawyer Normal Merrick Garland introduced the lawsuit, the Justice Division’s first main authorized motion since states all through the nation began reshaping their voting districts after the conclusion of the 2020 census.
Texas, the second-biggest U.S. state, with practically 30 million folks, grew dramatically because the final census in 2010, including practically 4 million residents. In consequence, the state gained two extra seats within the 435-member U.S. Home of Representatives.
Most of that inhabitants development was amongst minorities; white Texans accounted for about 5% of the expansion.
However the Justice Division alleged within the lawsuit that the Republican lawmakers had redrawn the congressional boundaries in a manner that may drawback minority voters, who usually have voted for Democrats.
The U.S. Supreme Courtroom has not blocked politically partisan drawing of legislative districts, however shaping them in a manner that unfairly places racial and ethnic minorities at an obstacle is illegitimate.
“This isn’t the primary time Texas has acted to reduce the voting rights of its minority residents,” the lawsuit contended. “Decade after decade, Texas has enacted redistricting plans that violate the Voting Rights Act.”
On Twitter, Texas Lawyer Normal Ken Paxton referred to as the lawsuit “absurd.”
“I’m assured that our legislature’s redistricting selections might be confirmed lawful, and this preposterous try and sway democracy will fail,” he wrote.
The lawsuit is the second time in a bit over a month that the Justice Division has sued Texas in a voting-related case. The federal authorities earlier claimed {that a} new state regulation would disenfranchise eligible voters, together with older Individuals and other people with disabilities, by banning 24-hour and drive-thru voting.