A District Court Just Ruled That Texas Gerrymandering Violated the Voting Rights Act

The long-awaited ruling dropped Friday night.


Good evening!

The case in question was originally filed in 2011 and charged that the congressional redistricting that happened after the 2010 census in Texas had been intentionally designed to dilute and diminish the votes of minorities.

And guess what?

Good news!

Tonight, in a 2-1 decision the US District Court for the Western District of Texas ruled that, indeed, the boundaries of certain districts in the Lone Star State do violate both the Voting Rights Act and the Equal Protection Clause of the US Constitution.

“If this stands at the Supreme Court,” Rick Hasen writes at ElectionLawBlog, “it could lead to the creation of more Texas minority opportunity districts.”

If you don;t have any plans tonight, you can read the 200 page opinion here:

 

 

And the 450 page finding of facts here:

 

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