A federal court issued a preliminary injunction blocking the 2025 Texas redistricted maps from going into effect, and ordered that the 2026 Congressional election use the 2021 maps instead.
Statement from Voting Right Project Director Rob Weiner
“Today’s ruling is a victory for Black voters and other communities of color in Texas. The court recognized the problems with the redistricting process and halted a map that stripped power from voters of color. It is a clear violation of the Constitution to design a plan to purposefully dismantle districts where Black and Brown voters together are a majority of voters. That’s discrimination by design and that is illegal.
The Department of Justice directed Texas to take apart majority-minority Congressional districts based on their racial composition. By his own account the governor obliged, and they agreed as well. Often you see more of an effort to conceal the targeting behind racial gerrymandering but here it was blatant. Only later did the governor and legislators try to walk back what they already admitted.
Under the racially gerrymandered map, white voters in Texas have control of 70 percent of the Congressional districts despite accounting for 40 percent of the population. The District Court recognized the injustice and illegality of this discrimination.
Although the law and the facts of this case are very clear, Texas undoubtedly will appeal to the Supreme Court and seek a stay. We hope that the Supreme Court, like the District Court, will choose the just and lawful result. We hope that it will uphold the rights of Black voters and strengthen the promise of our democracy.
Whether the Court will do that, whether it will choose justice, remains to be seen. But however the Court rules, the Lawyers’ Committee will keep fighting to protect the sacred right to vote. We will continue to stand with Black voters and all communities whose voices are too often silenced.”
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