Federal Court Finds Intentional Vote Dilution In Drawing Of Texas House District Maps

State Representative Eddie Rodriguez

Three-judge panel issues order on House maps in wake of recent ruling on Congressional maps.

Austin, Texas – Today, a three-judge panel of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas found that the Texas Legislature engaged in intentional vote dilution in drawing multiple Texas House districts in the 2011 redistricting plans.

State Representative Eddie Rodriguez issued the following statement regarding the order:

“Texas Republicans have admitted that they gerrymandered our electoral maps in 2011, maintaining that they did so for partisan advantage.

“But these days, mapmakers have access to interactive software tools that display granular, street-level detail and highly disaggregated information on both demographics and political behavior.

“And using this data, they carefully crafted districts to diminish Latino representation in the state and national legislative bodies. This tactic won the party nearly a decade of hegemony in Texas at the expense of our electoral system’s integrity.

“Today’s victory is the latest in a years-long struggle for justice by the Mexican American Legislative Caucus and our allies, including the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU, MALDEF, NAACP-LDF and many others.

“For years, we have waged the fight against state-sponsored discrimination without the full protections of the Voting Rights Act. Finally, the Texas House, Texas Senate and Congressional District electoral maps have all been found to be in violation of the Voting Rights Act as of today’s ruling.

“These victories would not have been possible without the tireless dedication of former MALC Chairman Trey Martinez Fischer, MALC Legal Counsel Ana Hernandez, and MALC Voting Rights Counsel Jose Garza, Martin Golando, and Michael Moran.”