Court Rewrites Redistricting Maps
House redistricting map drawn by federal judges in San Antonio and released Thursday. Image courtesy of Texas Legislative CouncilA three-judge federal panel in San Antonio issued a set of proposed redistricting maps for the 2012 elections on Wednesday. Several groups, including the Mexican-American Legislative Caucus, argued the maps drawn by the Texas legislature earlier this year took voting power away from minorities.
José Garza, lead council for the caucus, told reporters that the plan still isn’t perfect, but it does give Hispanics a majority-minority vote in several districts that the legislature did not.
“We see signs, on a number of legal issues that we raised with the court, that the court has responded positively,” Garza said.
Issues include protecting majority-Hispanic districts in El Paso, the Rio Grande Valley and Harris County. All parties to the lawsuit have until noon on Friday to submit objections and comments. The judges must rule on the maps by November 28 – the date candidates begin filing to run for the legislature in Texas’ 2012 primary.
