MALDEF STATEMENT ON COURT RULING IN TEXAS REDISTRICTING PLAN

MALDEF

August 15, 2017

San Antonio, TX - A federal court today struck down portions of the current Texas congressional redistricting plan. A three-judge panel unanimously ruled that certain boundaries in the current congressional redistricting plan, which were carried forward from the plan enacted in 2011, intentionally discriminated against Latino voters and diluted Latino voting strength.

MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund) represents the Texas Latino Redistricting Task Force and individual voters in this case. MALDEF’s challenge to the congressional boundaries in Nueces County, originally enacted in 2011 and carried forward into the current plan, was vindicated in today’s ruling.

The court ordered Texas to advise whether the Legislature will take up redistricting in a special session to address the violations in the congressional redistricting plan. If lawmakers do not take up redistricting, the federal court will hold a hearing to consider remedial plans on Sept. 5, 2017.

Please attribute the following statement on today’s ruling to Nina Perales, vice president of litigation for MALDEF and lead counsel for the Texas Latino Redistricting Task Force in the case:

“The court’s ruling on intentional discrimination is an important safeguard of Latino voting rights. Texas Latinos have fought for more than half the decade to secure a fair congressional redistricting plan we will continue litigating until we secure an equitable remedy.”

Founded in 1968, MALDEF is the nation's leading Latino legal civil rights organization. Often described as the "Latino Legal Voice for Civil Rights in America" MALDEF promotes social change through advocacy, communications, community education, and litigation in the areas of education, employment, immigrant rights, and political access. For more information on MALDEF, please visit: www.maldef.org.