Racial gerrymandering is illegal — but the Supreme Court has ruled partisan gerrymandering is allowed. Whether Texas' new congressional districts are the former or the latter is front and center in a federal lawsuit.
The NAACP recently joined a federal lawsuit filed by the League of United Latin American Citizens over the new congressional maps that Gov. Greg Abbott approved last Friday. The civil rights groups allege the new map, which could add five Republicans to the U.S. House of Representatives, weakens the voting power of Black and Hispanic Texans.
Rep. Julie Johnson said the new districts violate the Voting Rights Act.
"My district was a minority majority seat, and they've completely taken that all apart," Johnson said.
Johnson, a Democrat, represents Texas Congressional District 32. The district used to encompass about a quarter of Dallas County and 7% of Southern Collin County. Now, it covers several rural counties. And the majority of voters are white.
Abbott's press secretary, Andrew Mahaleris told the Texas Tribune the new maps allow more Texans to vote for a candidate that aligns with their values.
"Voters, especially Hispanic Texans, are increasingly moving away from Democrats and deserve to vote for candidates who better align with their values," Mahaleris said.
About 48% percent of Hispanics in Texas voted for President Donald Trump in 2024.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2019 partisan redistricting isn't under the purview of federal courts. Beth Van Duyne, a Republican who represents Texas Congressional District 24, said Democrats in other states have gerrymandered against Republicans.
"Look at states like California, look at Massachusetts, you look at Illinois – as soon as Democrats got in power, they decimated as many Republican seats as they possibly could," Van Duyne said.
She said Texas' new Congressional districts level the playing field. Congressional District 32, Johnson's district, now leans Republican.
Michael Kang, a law professor at Northwestern University, said it can be challenging to define the difference between racial and partisan gerrymandering.
"Places like Texas are saying, 'No, what we're really doing is we're partisan gerrymandering. This is not racial,'" Kang said. "Because they know that if it's characterized as a partisan gerrymander, as opposed to racial gerrymander, they can get away with it."
Other states are following Texas' lead and have plans for mid-decade redistricting. California voters will decide on a new Congressional map that would add five Democratic seats to the U.S. House of Representatives – the same number of new Texas Republican seats.
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