U.S. Supreme Court takes up fight over Texas electoral districts

Source: Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear a bid by Texas to revive Republican-drawn electoral districts for state legislative and U.S. congressional seats that were thrown out by a lower court for diminishing black and Hispanic voters’ clout.

The high court in September put both lower court rulings that had invalidated the Republican-drawn districts on hold in September. The justices were divided 5-4, with the five conservatives backing the Texas Republicans and the four liberals dissenting, suggesting they could be similarly divided when they issue their eventual ruling on the merits of the case.

The case is the latest in which the justices will ponder a practice known as gerrymandering in which state electoral districts are drawn in a way that amplifies the power of certain voters -- in this case white voters -- at the expense of others. It is the latest voting rights dispute taken up by the justices.

The lower court rulings in the Texas case found fault with state legislative districts and U.S. House of Representatives districts drawn by the Republican-controlled state legislature in 2013.

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#U.S. LEGAL NEWS JANUARY 12, 2018 / 4:05 PM / UPDATED AN HOUR AGO
Lawrence Hurley
5 MIN READ


Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-court-texas/u-s-supreme-court-takes-up-fight-over-texas-electoral-districts-idUSKBN1F12JZ