CASE SUMMARY
On December 6, 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a federal lawsuit against Texas and the Texas Secretary of State, challenging the state's enacted congressional and state House redistricting plans as violating the federal Voting Rights Act. The DOJ asserts that Texas's enacted congressional plan violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act because it both was enacted with an intent to discriminate against Latino and Black Texan voters and has the result of diluting the voting strength of those minority groups, citing the state's elimination of a Latino opportunity district in West Texas, failure to create a seat capturing the growing Latino electorate in Harris County, and decisions creating several new majority-white districts. Similarly, the DOJ also asserts that Texas's enacted state House redistricting plan violates Section 2 because it has the result of diluting Latino voting strength in various regions of South and West Texas. The DOJ is seeking a judicial declaration that Texas's enacted congressional and legislative plans violate Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, an injunction barring the defendants from using the plans in any future elections, and a court order establishing interim redistricting plans for use in the upcoming elections and directing the defendants to enact new redistricting plans that comply with Section 2.
On December 10, 2021, the case was consolidated with several other pending challenges to Texas's redistricting plans: League of United Latin Am. Citizens v. Abbott; Fair Maps Texas Action Comm. v. Abbott; Texas State Conf. of the NAACP v. Abbott; Wilson v. Texas; Brooks v. Abbott; Mexican Am. Legislative Caucus v. Texas; and Voto Latino v. Scott. On December 15, 2021, another case was consolidated with these challenges, Fischer v. Scott.
On May 23, 2022, the district court issued an opinion and order dismissing the United States' Section 2 claims for failure to state a claim except as to a new "opportunity" state House district near El Paso.
For a complete list of filings in this case, see the case page for League of United Latin Am. Citizens v. Abbott.
CASE LIBRARY
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, El Paso Division - No. 3:21-cv-299 [consolidated with 3:21-cv-259; 1:21-cv-943; 1:21-cv-965; 1:21-cv-988; 1:21-cv-991; 1:21-cv-1006; 1:21-cv-1038; & 3:21-cv-306]
- Complaint - 12/6/21
- Motion to Consolidate - 12/6/21
- Order Requiring Briefing - 12/6/21
- Request for Three-Judge Panel - 12/8/21
- Order - 12/8/21
- Order Constituting Three-Judge Court - 12/10/21
- Order Consolidating Case - 12/10/21
- Memorandum Opinion and Order - 5/23/22