Texas Federal Court acknowledges discrimination but rules against minority voters

Today despite acknowledging their “grave concerns” over the actions of Republican Texas lawmakers, they still handed them a key victory.

Previously the same court ruled maps drawn up in 2011 did, in fact, discriminate against minority voters. Even the fact they recently illegally purged voters, actions of this nature are something the court suggested the lawmakers will continue to do because of political expedience.

“Discrimination and overt hostility to minority Texans is the first option Greg Abbott and other Texas Republican leaders choose to hold power.  Donald Trump has made it a virtual requirement for being in the Republican Party,” Lone Star Project Director Matt Angle shared in a statement.

Although they noted “grave concerns” about Texas’ past conduct, the judges who have overseen the long-winding case against the state ruled that the drastic intervention was not warranted despite previously ruling that state lawmakers discriminated against voters of color when they first drew up new maps in 2011.

“Given the fact of changing population demographics, the likelihood increases that the Texas Legislature will continue to find ways to attempt to engage in “ingenious defiance of the Constitution” that necessitated the preclearance system in the first place,” the court wrote in its opinion.

Yet despite this, the court determined it was unnecessary to require federal oversight to protect the rights of minority voters in Texas.

“Even without being subject to preclearance, Texas must still comply with the requirements of the Fourteenth Amendment and § 2 of the VRA in the upcoming redistricting cycle, and undoubtedly its plans will be subject to judicial scrutiny. Texas would be well advised to conduct its redistricting process openly, with the understanding that consideration of bail-in is always an option…,” according to the court’s opinion.

The entire opinion is available here.

“It’s disappointing that the Court didn’t force pre-clearance now, because I have no doubt that Texas Republicans will very soon attack and discriminate in order to undermine Latino and African American voting strength.  They can’t win otherwise.

The State of Texas previously was required to submit any election changes to federal review by the U.S. Department of Justice or a federal court. This went on for decades because of the state’s history of discrimination against voters of color. In 2013, the Supreme Court ruled the formula being utilized was outdated and the state was released from federal supervision.