SAN ANTONIO – Texas legislators are receiving sharp criticism from civil rights groups after the House passed a new U.S. congressional map, citing concerns of voter suppression.
The new map, introduced by House Bill 4 at the request of former President Donald Trump, redraws the state’s U.S. congressional districts in the middle of the decade, ahead of next year’s midterm elections.
The bill passed Tuesday after a two-week walkout by Texas House Democrats.
Rep. Todd Hunter, the bill’s author, said the plan has legal approval and should move forward.
“I want everyone to know... this is the plan,” Hunter said on the House floor Tuesday. “It has counsel approval, and it absolutely should pass.”
Gov. Greg Abbott told KSAT 12 he could sign the bill by the end of the week.
“We are just drawing these maps based on new laws to make sure the candidate choice of all voters was going to be met,” Abbott said.
The new maps could alter districts for four U.S. representatives serving South Texas: Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, Vicente Gonzalez, D-McAllen, Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, and Greg Casar, D-Austin.
According to the Texas Tribune, the changes are expected to slightly favor Republicans in a region that is overwhelmingly Hispanic.
The League of United Latin American Citizens and the NAACP held a joint press conference Wednesday to express frustration with the bill, calling it a suppression of minority voters.
“This is not a partisan gerrymandering, this is not a power grab, this is racist power grab,” said Gary Bledsoe, a NAACP civil rights attorney.
Gloria Leal, general counsel for LULAC, called the bill “an egregious display of power on the back of minorities.”
Both organizations said they plan to pursue legal action once the bill is signed, hoping the courts will block the new maps from taking effect.
The move by Texas has prompted other states to consider mid-decade redistricting.
California leaders plan to redraw maps to add more Democratic seats, while states like Ohio, Indiana, Florida, Illinois and New York have floated similar ideas. However, some states may face time constraints.
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