DOJ: Rick Perry's Texas Congressional Redistricting Map Violates Voting Rights Act

[sonias]

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/09/justice_department_signals_concerns_with_rick_perrys_texas_redistricting_map.php">Talking Points Memo 9/19/11

DOJ: Rick Perry's Texas Congressional Redistricting Map Violates Voting Rights Act

Updated: September 19, 2011, 4:27PM

The Justice Department said Monday that Texas' state House and congressional redistricting plans didn't comply with Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA), indicating they thought the maps approved by Gov. Rick Perry (R) gave too little voting power to the growing Latino population in the state.

Officials with DOJ's Civil Rights Division said the proposed redistricting plan for the State Board of Education (SBOE) and the state Senate complied with the Voting Rights Act, but indicated they had concerns with the state House plan and the plan for congressional redistricting.

The federal government " that the proposed Congressional plan, as compared with the benchmark, maintains or increases the ability of minority voters to elect their candidate of choice in each district protected by Section 5," DOJ lawyers write in a filing. "Defendants deny that the proposed Congressional plan complies with Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act."

Texas is picking up four new seats in the House of Representatives next year because of its expanding Latino population. Their population went up over 90 percent in the period between the 2000 and 2010 censuses. But civil rights groups have taken issue with the redistricting process, signed into law by Gov. Rick Perry, because they say it puts Latino voters at a disadvantage.

:woohoo::bounce::woohoo::bounce::woohoo::bounce:

[sonias]

1. Democrats accuse Peña of lying about redistricting

AAS 9/19/11
Democrats accuse Peña of lying about redistricting

The state Democratic Party today is accusing a former member of the party of lying on the floor of the Texas House.

The party accused state Rep. Aaron Peña, R-Edinburg, who switched parties before the 2011 legislative session, of not being honest in a floor speech about redistricting in April — a charge Peña denied.

The party noted that Peña claimed to have nothing to do with the creation of the proposed House District 41, a strangely drawn district that is sometimes referred to as the “running man” because its shape is reminiscent of a runner.

The oddly shaped district was created to allow Peña to be re-elected by packing the district with white and Republican precincts, Democrats have said.

The Democrats point to a page in the House Journal in which Peña said in April: “I said I will not draw this map because one, I did not want to be involved. And two, that I didn’t want to be involved in pairing or being involved in effecting (sic) my neighbors districts.”

But the party said Peña’s words in April don’t reflect what really happened. As an attempt to prove their allegation, Democrats point to testimony from the federal redistricting trial that ended last week in San Antonio. There, Ryan Downton, the House Redistricting Committee counsel, testified that Peña was involved, they said.

:puke: on Pena. Vendido Pena has no shame....

[sonias]

2. In redistricting, the Dept. of Justice to fight congressional, state House maps

AAS 9/19/11
In redistricting, the Dept. of Justice to fight congressional, state House maps

The U.S. Department of Justice has declined to sign off on two redistricting maps, setting up a fight between the U.S. Department of Justice and the Texas attorney general’s office.

While the department did not take issue with the state Senate map and the State Board of Education map, it said today that it would oppose pre-clearance of the red-drawn congressional map and the Texas House map.

(snip)
Because of a history of discrimination, Texas and some other southern states must get the blessing of the federal government before re-drawn districts can take effect.

"history of discrimination" - same as it always was....

[sonias]

3. Lone Star Project press release

Lone Star Project
September 19, 2011
[phone] - Fax [phone]
Contact: Matt Angle

Breaking News

Department of Justice Objects to Texas Congressional Plan
DOJ will join the argument for a new Texas map

The U.S. Department of Justice filed a federal court brief earlier today objecting to the racially gerrymandered Republican drawn Texas congressional map. The DOJ objection is an important step forward in winning the federal court fight in Washington, D.C. and forcing a redrawn map that fairly reflects Texas’ growth over the last decade.

The Department of Justice will now argue in alliance with intervener groups before a three-judge panel in the DC Federal District Court that the Texas map should be overturned and a new plan drawn. The Lone Star Project and the Texas Justice Fund support the intervener group led by State Representative Marc Veasey (HD95 – Fort Worth) which was the first to be approved by the federal court. Other intervener groups supported by Hispanic and African American advocacy organizations are party to the suit as well.

The DOJ objection positions the department in alliance with the intervener groups and in opposition to the Texas Republican State officials when arguing to the federal courts. The DC Federal Court is expected to set a time-table for legal discovery and a trial on the merits within the next several days.

What Happens Next?
The three-judge panel in Washington, D.C. will set a trial schedule to hear formal arguments from all parties to the suit and make a final determination whether or not the Texas plan violates Section 5 of the US Voting Rights Act. The Department of Justice will argue against the State of Texas before the three-judge federal panel in Washington, DC.

After the DC Court rules, the focus will shift back to Texas, where the San Antonio Court will make its decision on possible Section 2 violation and then order redrawn maps if required.

Last week, a Federal District Court in San Antonio completed a trial hearing arguments that the Texas Congressional and State House plans violate Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act requiring state plans to reflect the voting strength of citizens. The three-judge panel in Texas will hold off on issuing an opinion on that trial until the DC Court rules whether the Texas plans violate Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act preventing plans from reducing the existing opportunities of minority voters.

Comments by Lone Star Project Director Matt Angle:

"No one should be surprised by the DOJ opposition to the Texas Republican map. Texas Republicans ignored the Voting Rights Act to draw an overtly partisan racial gerrymander. It is an assault on the Voting Rights Act."

"Over and over Republicans show they would rather destroy minority voting strength than work to earn minority votes."

"The DOJ's position is further proof that Texas leaders have failed the voters. Their map will cost Texans hundreds of thousands to defend before it is ultimately found to be illegal and redrawn."

:kick:

[sonias]

4. DOJ Denies Preclearance for Texas House, Congressional Maps

Burnt Orange Report 9/19/11
DOJ Denies Preclearance for Texas House, Congressional Maps

Today, the Department of Justice announced that the Texas redistricting maps for the Texas House of Representatives and Congressional districts did not meet pre-clearance. (The SBOE and Senate maps did, which sucks, more on that later.)
Basically, receiving pre-clearance means that the map doesn't unfairly discriminate on the basis of race, color, or a "language minority group." The DOJ's decision suggests that they, too, see problems in these two maps, which do not reflect the fact that Texas's immense population growth over the last decade has been due to minority groups.

In the meantime, here are statements received by Burnt Orange Report on the DOJ's decision:

(snip)

Rep. Doggett Statement in Response to the Department of Justice's Answer Filed Today Regarding Texas Congressional Redistricting

"Like everyone who has studied it, except Governor Perry and his cohorts, the Justice Department simply recognized that this map is illegal. Communities of interest across this State have been wrongly divided by the Governor's crooked lines. Whether or not proposed CD 35, which contains the largest number of my current constituents, is specifically declared illegal, I believe that it may well be changed by necessary corrections to adjacent congressional districts."

:kick:

[sonias]

5. DOJ Says No to Texas Maps

Austin Chronicle 9/19/11
DOJ Says No to Texas Maps

Shocking no one, the US Department of Justice has just refused to certify that either the Congressional or state house maps passed by the Legislature this year comply with the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

The heavily gerrymandered maps are currently in the courts, but Republicans were hoping that Attorney General Eric Holder would effectively curtail that process by ruling that the maps are in compliance with the act. However, in a filing made today in the US District Court for the District of Colombia, Holder kicked the issue back to the courts.

Texas Democratic Party spokesperson Rebecca Acuña just issued this statement:

It’s a shame that Governor Perry and his Republican colleagues are more interested in protecting their own political futures than the voting rights of their constituents. We’re thankful that the Department of Justice stepped in to protect the interests of Texans.

:thumbsup:

[sonias]

6. Justice Department rejects Texas redistricting maps

San Antonio Express-News 9/19/11
Justice Department rejects Texas redistricting maps

Lawyers for the U.S. Department of Justice said that two of Texas' controversial redistricting maps didn't comply with the Voting Rights Act's minimum standards, finding that the proposed changes to state House and Congressional districts failed to maintain or increase the ability of minorities to elect their candidates of choice.

While the Justice Department's filing in D.C. federal court on Monday isn't binding, it virtually assures that Attorney General Greg Abbott's lawsuit will head to trial. In the past, it has usually fallen to the Justice Department to certify that Texas' redistricting plans don't violate civil rights protections. Abbott bypassed that process by taking redistricting to federal court in Washington D.C.

Legal observers expect the federal three-judge panel assigned to the case to set a trial date as early as Wednesday.

Preserving the ability of minority voters to elect their candidates of choice from protected districts is a key component of complying with the Civil Rights-era act.

:kick:

[sonias]

7. Justice Department rejects Texas congressional, state House redistricting plans

Texas on Potomac blog Houston Chronicle 9/19/11

Justice Department rejects Texas congressional, state House redistricting plans

The U.S. Department of Justice today declared in Federal District Court in Washington that the redistricting plan approved by the government of Texas is illegal, setting the stage for a legal showdown to determine how Texas will select its representatives to Congress.

The Justice Department filing is a response to a motion filed by the Texas seeking for court approval of its maps, a strategy observers have said is an attempt to circumvent the Department. In the filing, the Justice Department said that the proposed congressional map does not “maintain or increase the ability of minority voters to elect their candidate of choice.”

Texas is among the states required by the 1965 Voting Rights Act to obtain pre-clearance from the Justice Department on its redistricting plans. This provision applies to any state that had less than half its eligible voters voting in 1960 or 1964, and includes most of the southern states as well as Alaska, Arizona, and parts of Florida, California, Michigan, South Dakota, and New Hampshire.

Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee and Gene Green, both Houston Democrats, have decried the redistricting plan as a violation of the act, particularly due to the lack of representation for Hispanics. Texas’ Hispanic population accounted for most of the five million person growth in total population since 2000, but opponents of the new plan charge that no new Hispanic-majority districts exist under the map.

:kick:

[sonias]

8. What DOJ Tossing Texas' Redistricting Plan Means For Rick Perry

Talking Points Memo 9/20/11

What DOJ Tossing Texas' Redistricting Plan Means For Rick Perry

(snip)
The Justice Department's decision to oppose the redistricting plan Perry signed as Governor of Texas is raising questions over whether he and state Republicans tried to dilute the voter power of Latinos by gerrymandering them into particular districts.

DOJ's opening serve sets the scene for a major court battle over how the lines will be drawn in the Lone Star state. Federal attorneys are expected to offer more details of their objections in a filing Tuesday and in federal court in D.C. on Wednesday.

The circumstances are certainly unusual. On one side, there's the Obama Justice Department, the first Democratic administration to oversee Texas' redistricting process since the Voting Rights Act was passed in 1965. On the other side, there's Obama's potential Republican opponent Rick Perry, and his strong aversion to federal power.

(snip)
"This isn't unprecedented at all, this is the Department of Justice doing its job," Jon Sherman, a staff attorney with the ACLU's Voting Rights Project, told TPM. "The Justice Department became very politicized under Bush Jr.'s administration. This is much more reflective of what occurred during the Reagan administration and Bush Sr. administration, when the Voting Rights Act was being enforced much more vigorously."

(snip)
Texas Republicans led the process, with Perry siding with Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) and his plan to circumvent the Justice Department preclearance process. Their aggressive map -- which includes 25 Republican-leaning seats and ten Democratic seats -- scrapped the idea of a new Hispanic majority seat around Dallas-Fort Worth.

:kick:

[sonias]

9. Justice Department refuses to pre-clear new Texas districts

AAS 9/19/11

Justice Department refuses to pre-clear new Texas districts

(snip)
Angle noted that Texas currently has 11 minority districts in the 32-district state, but the proposed congressional map has 36 districts, only 10 of them minority districts.

"You don't have to be a math major to know blacks and Hispanics lost ground," he said. "The State of Texas again overreached."

Angle said it would have been fair to have 14 minority districts: four African American districts, nine Latino districts and one "coalition district" in Travis County that would have whites, Hispanics and African Americans voting together.

The coalition district would allow minorities to elect the candidate of their choosing, and in Travis County, that candidate has been — and should continue to be — U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, Angle said.

The Legislature redrew Doggett's District 25 so that it would probably elect a Republican. Doggett has decided to run in the proposed adjacent District 35, where he faces a challenge from San Antonio state Rep. Joaquin Castro.

:kick:

[sonias]

10. Feds: Proposed Texas Maps Undermine Minority Vote

Texas Tribune 9/20/11
Feds: Proposed Texas Maps Undermine Minority Vote

The new political maps for the Texas House and the state's congressional delegation don't protect the electoral power of the state's minority populations as required by the federal Voting Rights Act, the U.S. Department of Justice said in legal briefs filed in federal court Monday.

(snip)
"It's consistent with what we've been saying," said state Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio, who heads the Mexican American Legislative Caucus. His and other groups have argued that the state didn't account for the growth in minority populations over the last 10 years — minorities made up 89 percent of the state's overall growth — and that in some cases, the Legislature actually diluted the representation that was already in place.

(snip)
In the Justice Department's 10-page filing, federal lawyers "admit that the proposed Senate plan complies with Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act" — the part of the law that ensures the state doesn't dilute minority voting strength.

But in legal boilerplate, the Justice Department lawyers questioned the legality of the maps for the Texas House and for the state's congressional seats, saying they "deny that the proposed Congressional plan, as compared with the benchmark, maintains or increases the ability of minority voters to elect their candidate of choice in each district protected by Section 5." The Justice Department used the same language with regard to the plan for the 150 Texas House districts.

:kick:

[ceile]

11. Excellent! n/t