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 Columbia, 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.

The Perry-signed state house and congressional maps attempted to diminish the political voice of the communities responsible for the state’s population growth. The maps are a desperate attempt by Republicans to latch on to power by any means necessary.

Democratic Congressman Lloyd Doggett, whose Austin district is one of the most heavily mangled under the proposed map, issued his own statement:

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.

So far we have received no press statements from Perry, Lt. Gov. Dewhurst, Speaker Joe Straus or the Texas GOP.