AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Voting-rights advocates sued Tuesday to overturn a redistricting map drawn by Texas Republicans meant to favor the social gathering within the 2026 midterm elections, saying it weakens the electoral affect of Black voters.
The NAACP and the Legal professionals Committee for Civil Rights Underneath Legislation filed the lawsuit in Texas.
They accuse Texas legislative leaders of participating in gerrymandering to stop Black voters from electing candidates of their selection.
“The state of Texas is simply 40 % white, however white voters management over 73 % of the state’s congressional seats,” Derrick Johnson, President and CEO of the NAACP, mentioned in a press release. “It’s fairly apparent that Texas’s effort to redistrict mid-decade, earlier than subsequent yr’s midterm elections, is racially motivated. The state’s intent right here is to scale back the members of Congress who symbolize Black communities, and that, in and of itself, is unconstitutional.”
Because the Voting Rights Act was adopted, the state of Texas has been discovered to have discriminated in opposition to Black and/or Brown residents after each cycle of redistricting, in keeping with the NAACP.
Black residents for many years have overwhelmingly favored Democratic candidates.
Texas lawmakers authorized the map Saturday, including 5 new districts favoring Republicans. The transfer got here after President Donald Trump requested it.
The hassle by Trump and Texas’ Republican-majority Legislature prompted state Democrats to carry a two-week walkout and kicked off a wave of redistricting efforts throughout the nation. California Gov. Gavin Newsom in response has authorized a particular election for a redrawn map to assist Democrats win extra seats.
Republican Sen. Phil King, the Texas measure’s sponsor, beforehand denied accusations alleging that the redrawn districts violate the Voting Rights Act by diluting voters’ affect based mostly on race.
“I had two targets in thoughts: That every one maps could be authorized and could be higher for Republican congressional candidates in Texas,” he mentioned.
The U.S. Supreme Court docket in 2019 dominated that the Structure doesn’t prohibit partisan gerrymandering to extend a celebration’s clout, solely gerrymandering that’s explicitly executed by race.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who has not but signed the map into legislation, has predicted it is going to survive any court docket challenges. Abbott additionally has predicted different Republican-led states will make comparable strikes in search of new seats for the GOP in Congress.
The NAACP additionally on Tuesday urged all different states to behave instantly by redistricting and passing what it known as new, lawful and constitutional electoral maps.
“It could nonetheless appear far-off, however the 2026 midterm elections will decide whether or not our democracy nonetheless holds on or whether or not the individuals give up their energy to a king,” Johnson mentioned earlier this month.
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