All voters should be able to make their voices heard in elections and every vote should count equally.
In opposition to this basic American principle, the Trump administration’s Department of Justice (DOJ), in coordination with Texas Governor Greg Abbott, is pushing the Texas State Legislature to draw new voting maps in Texas that intentionally discriminate against Black and Latino voters.
If Texas lawmakers yield to the pressure, these new maps would illegally deprive Black and Latino voters of fair and equal representation. That is straightforward racial discrimination.
Why is the DOJ calling for redistricting now?
Normally, redistricting happens every decade and is based upon U.S. Census data. Gerrymandering is a tactic where politicians use the redistricting process to manipulate voting maps and gain an advantage at the expense of voters.
Now, the DOJ is calling upon the Texas Legislature to redraw its maps in a highly unusual mid-decade redistricting effort, and citing a recent Fifth Circuit ruling as the reason.
Earlier this year, in the case Petteway v. Galveston, the Fifth Circuit ruled that Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) does not require states to create new coalition districts, which are districts where more than one community of color form a majority of voters.
Following this ruling, the DOJ researched the racial makeup of districts in Texas and identified three districts in which Black and Latino voters together constitute a majority, and one district in which Latino voters constitute a majority. The DOJ is now arguing that these districts are racial gerrymanders and, therefore, are unconstitutional.
But here’s the problem with the DOJ’s argument: The Fifth Circuit’s ruling doesn’t prohibit the existence of coalition districts; it merely says that states are not required by the VRA to purposefully create them.
Additionally, race was not a factor that was considered when drawing these districts, so they can’t be racial gerrymanders. And the individuals who drew these maps testified to the fact that race was not a consideration.
Just because Black and Latino communities exist in the same district, doesn't mean that the district is unconstitutional. And to dismantle the district because of the race of the voters who live there is blatant racial discrimination.
The DOJ and Governor Abbott are ordering the Legislature to purposefully target districts that were drawn without race as a consideration and to dismantle them because of the race of the Texans living there.
This is intentional racial discrimination in violation of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments of the Constitution and Section 2 of the Voting Right Act.
Racial gerrymandering robs voters of fair representation — but these four districts as they currently exist are not racial gerrymanders. And any attempt to redraw these districts because of their racial makeup is racial discrimination.
So, Campaign Legal Center Action has notified the Texas Legislature that, if they redraw their maps as the DOJ demands, they will be drawing racially discriminatory maps and violating the Constitution and the VRA.
How can we defend against racial discrimination in redistricting?
Bolstered protections for the voting rights of communities of color, like those included in the CLC-endorsed John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act (JLVRAA), would ensure that voters can make their voices heard and elect officials who will best represent their communities.
The passage of the JLVRAA by Congress would protect voters by solidifying well-established standards for evaluating VRA lawsuits and provide new protections against discriminatory voting laws. In so doing, it would help voters of color challenge unfair rules and gerrymandered maps that attempt to dilute the power of their vote.
What’s next?
The Department of Justice cannot direct Texas (or any other state) to illegally redraw its maps, let alone for the purpose of discriminating against voters based on their race. Campaign Legal Center Action is urging the Texas Legislature to abandon this illegal redistricting scheme and provide fair representation to the state’s Black and Latino voters.
The DOJ should be a strong federal advocate for voters, anti-corruption and civil rights, but they’ve lately been failing to uphold this responsibility — and even allowing attacks on voting rights to go unchallenged.
Campaign Legal Center has stepped up in their absence to ensure that elections are determined by voters, not politicians who manipulate voting maps. Join us as we continue our work to protect every Americans’ right to vote under fair maps.
