Justices sided with Black voters in a congressional redistricting case out of Alabama and preserved provisions in the landmark Voting Rights Act that barred racial discrimination.
PUBLISHED 6:58 AM CDT Jun. 20, 2023WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court’s conservative majority has chiseled away at federal protections aimed at restricting racial bias in political mapmaking for years, which is why it was such a surprise earlier this month when justices ruled in favor of Black voters who challenged Alabama’s legislative lines. That case could have major implications across the country, including in Texas, which has pending lawsuits over how state lawmakers redrew the lines.
As Texans took to the polls over the past two years, some civil rights groups say they were voting under legislative maps that were not fair. Republican mapmakers in Texas insisted the lines were drawn “race blind,” but there has been nearly a dozen lawsuits since 2021 challenging them. Now, after a surprising Supreme Court ruling, some of those Texas civil rights groups are encouraged.
Voting rights advocates point to how Texas gained two new congressional districts due to the explosive growth driven by people of color, yet the new districts were drawn majority white. Texas is also being challenged over its state legislative maps and board of education maps.
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