Justice Department sues Texas over redistricting maps, claiming Voting Rights Act violations

The Justice Department on Monday sued Texas over its new redistricting maps, arguing the new congressional and state legislative districts were drawn to dilute the electoral representation of Latino and Black voters in violation of the Voting Rights Act. This is at least the fifth lawsuit challenging the new districts, drawn by Republicans in the state Legislature, on racial discrimination grounds.

The Justice Department noted that while 95 percent of the population growth that allowed Texas to claim two new congressional districts came from Latino, Black, and Asian residents — half of the state's 4 million new inhabitants over the past decade were Hispanic — the number of Latino-majority districts shrank from eight to seven, and the number of majority Black districts withered from one to zero.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.