Contact The Editor
Articles By This Author
The NAACP, the nation's largest civil rights organization, asked a court Tuesday to block what it called a "racially motivated" congressional map that dilutes the political power of Black voters.
The organization filed an amended complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, El Paso Division, seeking to prevent Texas's redrawn congressional map from taking effect, claiming the new district map is unconstitutional. In 2021, Republican lawmakers drew a new map after the 2020 Census, and the NAACP and others sued, arguing the districts were racially discriminatory. A panel of judges held a trial this year but has not yet ruled.
"It's quite obvious that Texas's effort to redistrict mid-decade, before next year's midterm elections, is racially motivated. The state's intent here is to reduce the members of Congress who represent Black communities, and that, in and of itself, is unconstitutional," NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson said in a statement to The Washington Post.
Representatives for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), who was named as a defendant in Tuesday's filing, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Texas Republicans, who control the state Senate and House, voted to adopt the new map last week. The effort came after political pressure from President Donald Trump to add safely Republican districts ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, arguing that Republicans are "entitled" to five more seats in Congress.
Under the old map, Republicans held 25 of the state's 38 congressional districts. Under the new map, they could win 30 seats.
Four of the five potential GOP pickups have Hispanic majorities, according to demographic information released by the state.
The districts of five House Democrats - Greg Casar, Henry Cuellar, Al Green, Vicente Gonzalez and Julie Johnson - were tilted sharply to the right, with some Democratic lawmakers, such as Joaquin Castro and Marc Veasey, moved into districts now held by Republicans.
Democrats have condemned the move as an attempt to consolidate power and accused Republicans of violating the Voting Rights Act, a 1965 law meant to ensure Black and Latino communities can elect candidates of their choice. Republicans have broadly denied that race or ethnicity was a factor in the new map and have said that the focus was to improve political performance for their party.
"I did not take race into consideration when drawing this map," state Sen. Phil King (R), who wrote the redistricting legislation, said at a committee hearing, according to the Texas Tribune. "I drew it based on what would better perform for Republican candidates."
But the timing of the redistricting effort and partisan push has still sparked controversy among voters and nonpartisan redistricting analysts.
Hours after the Texas state Senate approved the new congressional map last week, a group of 13 Texas residents asked a court to block the map, alleging that the redrawn districts are racially discriminatory and violate voter protection laws. The group similarly filed a supplemental complaint in the original redistricting lawsuit from 2021.
The redistricting process typically occurs every 10 years after new census data is released, with the next census scheduled for 2030. Without new data on demographics and population changes from which to draw, district maps could be based on political gain rather than fair representation - a key criticism, given the Lone Star state is home to the largest population of eligible Black voters in the country.
(COMMENT, BELOW)