WASHINGTON — Today, the League of Women Voters, League of Women Voters of Texas, and other nonprofit, nonpartisan civil rights and racial justice organizations, led by the Legal Defense Fund (LDF), filed an amicus brief in support of the plaintiffs’ motions for preliminary injunction in League of United Latin American Citizens, et al., v. State of Texas, et al. The brief argues that the court should block Texas’s newly enacted and racially discriminatory 2025 congressional map from going into effect before the 2026 elections.
“The League of Women Voters of Texas is proud of our state’s rich racial and cultural diversity, and we know that democracy thrives when every community has the opportunity to elect candidates of their choice,” said Joyce LeBombard, president of the League of Women Voters of Texas. “Instead of providing that opportunity, legislators have manipulated this map by treating Black voters and other voters of color like puzzle pieces to secure political power. The League will always stand up to these injustices and fight for a truly representative democracy in Texas.”
In August, during an extraordinary special session calling for mid-decade redistricting, the Texas legislature passed a congressional map that weakens electoral opportunities for Black and Hispanic voters, particularly in the Harris County and the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Texas surgically targeted these districts with significant numbers of Black and Hispanic voters. Rather than addressing the constitutional issues in Texas’s prior congressional map, the legislature doubled down on racial discrimination by again using an impermissibly race-driven process to enact a new congressional map that discriminates against Black and Hispanic voters.
“Redistricting should always serve the people, not politicians,” said Celina Stewart, CEO of the League of Women Voters. “What is happening in Texas and across the country is not only a political disgrace, but also illegal racial discrimination against Black voters and other voters of color. The League will not stand for it, and we are proud to fight against this harmful map."
In attempting to conceal their discrimination, the Texas legislature passed the new congressional map in a rushed, non-transparent, and non-democratic process, ignoring overwhelming public testimony warning of the harms the new map would bring to Black and other Texans.
Texas is home to the largest total number of eligible Black voters in the country. Opportunities for Black and Hispanic voters are not zero sum. It is possible in a fairly drawn congressional map to protect the electoral opportunities for both Black and Hispanic voters.
The amicus brief, which provides additional information to the court, was filed on behalf of the League of Women Voters, League of Women Voters of Texas, LDF, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Black Voters Matter, the Houston Area Urban League, Barbara Jordan Leadership Institute, Friendship-West Baptist Church, American Civil Liberties Union, and ACLU of Texas, who issued a joint statement:
“Black voters and other voters of color deserve fair representation — not to be harmed through unlawful maneuvering. The use of this new congressional map threatens to undermine their ability to elect leaders who understand their communities and will work with them to address urgent and ongoing challenges. Our Constitution protects against efforts that weaken the voices of Black voters and other communities of color. We must remain steadfast in the pursuit of equal and fair representation for every community. The strength of our multiracial democracy in Texas, and across the nation, depends on it.”
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