Texas cited for voting act violations

last updated 8 January 2015

The U.S. Justice Department has charged Texas’s Republican-controlled statehouse with violating the Voting Rights Act in drawing boundaries for new congressional districts. The proposed redistricting failed to “maintain or increase the ability of minorities to elect their candidates of choice,” according to the charges, which Texas denies. District boundaries are redrawn every 10 years to reflect changes in population, and federal law requires some states to clear changes with the Justice Department to protect minorities’ rights. Largely because of a rise in its Hispanic population, Texas will increase the size of its delegation in the U.S. House of Representatives next year by four, to 36 representatives.