Texas redistricting plan violated the Voting Rights Act

Justice Staff Saw Texas Districting As Illegal
Voting Rights Finding On Map Pushed by DeLay Was Overruled

WP
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/01/AR2005120101927.html?referrer=email

Justice Staff Saw Texas Districting As Illegal
Voting Rights Finding On Map Pushed by DeLay Was Overruled

By Dan Eggen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, December 2, 2005

Justice Department lawyers concluded that the landmark Texas congressional redistricting plan spearheaded by Rep. Tom DeLay (R) violated the Voting Rights Act, according to a previously undisclosed memo obtained by The Washington Post. But senior officials overruled them and approved the plan.

The memo, unanimously endorsed by six lawyers and two analysts in the department's voting section, said the redistricting plan illegally diluted black and Hispanic voting power in two congressional districts. It also said the plan eliminated several other districts in which minorities had a substantial, though not necessarily decisive, influence in elections.

"The State of Texas has not met its burden in showing that the proposed congressional redistricting plan does not have a discriminatory effect," the memo concluded.

The memo also found that Republican lawmakers and state officials who helped craft the proposal were aware it posed a high risk of being ruled discriminatory compared with other options. But the Texas legislature proceeded with the new map anyway because it would maximize the number of Republican federal lawmakers in the state, the memo said. The redistricting was approved in 2003, and Texas Republicans gained five seats in the U.S. House in the 2004 elections, solidifying GOP control of Congress.

If you had seen the redistricting map, it looks as though it were drawn by a dog with a paintbrush in his mouth.....and yeah, if it wasn't illegal, it should have been.

thing in PA

redistricted as well, & Georgia, & they tried to pass it in California. So the questions are-since the legislative branch broke the law, what is going to be done about it? How does the judicial branch enforce adherence to American laws?

Redistricting is done by census and those are done every ten years. How many Democrats (not Texas Democrats who were very heroic) but US senators or Representatives did anything at all about this? How many speaches were given? How many walked out in support of those heroic Texas Legislators. Even when Delay used Federal armtwisting to track those guys down I don't recall even a yelp from Kerry or Clinton or Clark or even Dean. This was a dagger driven deep into Democracy and did Joe Leiberman orate on the Senate Floor? Did any Democrat???? That is one reason Democrats are not held in any higher esteem than Republicans. They refuse to go out on a limb for their country or even their party.