A Washington, D.C. federal court blocked the Republican-drawn Texas redistricting maps in a ruling Tuesday afternoon, clearing the path for a three-judge panel to draw new congressional lines expected to benefit Democrats.
After the GOP-controlled legislature passed the plan earlier this year, which was signed into law by Gov. Rick Perry, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott decided to bypass the Department of Justice's Voting Rights Act-mandated review, hoping that the District of Columbia federal court would approve the plans without a full trial.
After the GOP-controlled legislature passed the plan earlier this year, which was signed into law by Gov. Rick Perry, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott decided to bypass the Department of Justice's Voting Rights Act-mandated review, hoping that the District of Columbia federal court would approve the plans without a full trial.
But the three-judge panel struck down that request, and with a full trial now looming and filing set to close next month ahead of a March primary, the San Antonio court will draw interim map to be used in the 2012 election. The new map is expected to be unveiled in the coming weeks.
Writing in their decision, the panel found that the state "used an improper standard or methodology to determine which districts afford minority voters the ability to elect their preferred candidates of choice and that there are material issues of fact in dispute that prevent this Court from entering declaratory judgment that the three redistricting plans meet the requirements of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act."
Republicans had privately expected that a decision against them in the D.C. court was likely. In the GOP-drawn map, three of the state's four new seats that state is gaining in reapportionment would likely. have gone to Republicans. Now Democrats could pick up three of the four.
While mapmakers shored up the districts of freshmen Republicans Quico Canseco and Blake Farenthold in redistricting, their new seats could see significant revisions, particularly Canseco's San Antonio-based district.
Also catching a possibly lucky break: longtime Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett. One of two remaining Anglo Democrats in the Texas delegation, Doggett saw his Austin-based 25th district sliced up, and he announced he would run instead in the new Democratic-leaning 35th District - pitting him in a primary with up-and-coming state Rep. Joaquin Castro. Now, both sides say the new map is likely to restore more of Doggett's former, winnable seat, allowing for both Doggett and Castro to run in separate districts.
While there's still the possibility that Republicans in the state could try to revise the maps again ahead of the 2014 midterm elections, Democrats say that the minority strength in fast-growing Hispanic areas in the state will be showcased in next year's elections, and can't be ignored. "You can't go back to the old map," said Texas Democratic strategist Matt Angle. "Minority voting strength will be determined under the map that the elections are run under, which means that the states maps are moot. The Republicans might as well have not even done redistricting under the legislature. They wasted everybody's time." Texas Republicans said that while they're not pleased with Tuesday's ruling, they will operate under whatever deadlines and maps the court hands down, and they look forward to defending the maps in the full trial. "Of course we're disappointed that the Department of Justice has apparently helped convince the court that there's some standard that wasn't met," said Texas Republican Party spokesman Chris Elam. "In 2010, the Texas Republican Party elected more new Hispanic and African American representatives than the Democrats did, so saying that the Republican Party is not worthy of minority representation is just ludicrous. We look forward to opportunities and winning elections in 2012 just as we did in 2010.
http://www.nationaljournal.com/blogs/hotlineoncall/2011/11/texas-democrats-win-redistricting-battle-08
Writing in their decision, the panel found that the state "used an improper standard or methodology to determine which districts afford minority voters the ability to elect their preferred candidates of choice and that there are material issues of fact in dispute that prevent this Court from entering declaratory judgment that the three redistricting plans meet the requirements of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act."
Republicans had privately expected that a decision against them in the D.C. court was likely. In the GOP-drawn map, three of the state's four new seats that state is gaining in reapportionment would likely. have gone to Republicans. Now Democrats could pick up three of the four.
While mapmakers shored up the districts of freshmen Republicans Quico Canseco and Blake Farenthold in redistricting, their new seats could see significant revisions, particularly Canseco's San Antonio-based district.
Also catching a possibly lucky break: longtime Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett. One of two remaining Anglo Democrats in the Texas delegation, Doggett saw his Austin-based 25th district sliced up, and he announced he would run instead in the new Democratic-leaning 35th District - pitting him in a primary with up-and-coming state Rep. Joaquin Castro. Now, both sides say the new map is likely to restore more of Doggett's former, winnable seat, allowing for both Doggett and Castro to run in separate districts.
While there's still the possibility that Republicans in the state could try to revise the maps again ahead of the 2014 midterm elections, Democrats say that the minority strength in fast-growing Hispanic areas in the state will be showcased in next year's elections, and can't be ignored. "You can't go back to the old map," said Texas Democratic strategist Matt Angle. "Minority voting strength will be determined under the map that the elections are run under, which means that the states maps are moot. The Republicans might as well have not even done redistricting under the legislature. They wasted everybody's time." Texas Republicans said that while they're not pleased with Tuesday's ruling, they will operate under whatever deadlines and maps the court hands down, and they look forward to defending the maps in the full trial. "Of course we're disappointed that the Department of Justice has apparently helped convince the court that there's some standard that wasn't met," said Texas Republican Party spokesman Chris Elam. "In 2010, the Texas Republican Party elected more new Hispanic and African American representatives than the Democrats did, so saying that the Republican Party is not worthy of minority representation is just ludicrous. We look forward to opportunities and winning elections in 2012 just as we did in 2010.
http://www.nationaljournal.com/blogs/hotlineoncall/2011/11/texas-democrats-win-redistricting-battle-08