text size

Court throws out judge-drawn Texas electoral maps

Updated: Monday, February 13 2012, 09:19 AM CST
The fate of the Texas Primary remains uncertain thanks to a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court Friday.

In a unanimous decision, justices threw out court-drawn Texas redistricting maps. The Court says the panel of Federal judges who redrew the maps should have used the Legislature’s maps as a blueprint.

Every 10 years, Texas lawmakers redraw boundary lines for congressional and state legislative districts. That means, every 10 years, the maps are challenged in court by people who say they are unfair. This time around, several minority groups said the redistricting done by the Republican led Legislature diluted minority voting strength. The Federal judges in San Antonio then redrew the maps.  Now, the Supreme Court says those same Federal judges must go back to the drawing board.

Here’s how Austin American Statesman Capitol Bureau Chief Jason Embry sees it.

“The Supreme Court basically said you need to use a little more deference to what the Legislature did. Use the map for more guidance than you previously did. So, what you have is a map that looks better for Republicans. It’s not a total win for Republicans. It’s a partial win.”

Ryan Downton is happy about the decision. He was the General Counsel to the Texas House Redistricting Committee. In that role, he helped design and draw the map passed by the Texas Legislature. Downton also defended the map in testimony before the U.S. Supreme Court and the Federal panel in San Antonio.
Downton says minorities did have input in the process.

“Requests were made by black and Hispanic Democrats. We did accommodate their requests to make sure their communities were represented in the map."

U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, is among those who protested the original map. Under the Legislature’s plan, his district was redrawn to stretch from East Austin to San Antonio. He says Austin’s voice in Congress has been divided since we once had just one district representing the city. He liked the new maps redrawn the Federal judges and he hopes those lines will stay intact.

“I’m hopeful the San Antonio court will approve a district similar to what they’ve already done that reunited Austin and preserved our community,” he said.

There’s no guarantee that will happen. There’s also looming uncertainty about whether Texas can actually hold a primary on April 3 as planned. Both parties have already booked conventions and hotel rooms based on that primary date.

But election officials across Texas say they can’t run an election on April 3 unless the maps are finalized by the end of this month. Considering the complicated legal hurdles ahead, that will be difficult.
Court throws out judge-drawn Texas electoral maps