Federal panel rules some of Texas' congressional districts illegal

[highplainsdem]

Source: Texas Tribune

Some of Texas’ 36 congressional districts violate either the U.S. Constitution or the federal Voting Rights Act, a panel of federal judges ruled Friday.

In a long-delayed ruling, the judges ruled 2-1 that the Texas Legislature must redraw the political maps it most recently used for the 2016 elections.

Specifically, they pointed to Congressional District 23, which stretches from San Antonio to El Paso, takes in most of the Texas-Mexico border and is represented by Republican Will Hurd of Helotes; Congressional District 27, represented by Blake Farenthold, R-Corpus Christi; and Congressional District 35, a Central Texas district represented by Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin.

The 166-page ruling by the San Antonio-based district was the latest in a complicated case that dates back to 2011, and comes just two election cycles away from the next U.S. Census — when the state would draw a new map under normal circumstances.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2017/03/10/federal-panel-rules-texas-congressional-districts-illegal/

[lastlib]

1. This is a positive step!

We'll take a win any time! Peresverance, we WILL win this fight, because it's about basic fairness versus unbridled greed and power-lust.

[SHRED]

2. Republicans don't give two sh*ts about the Constitution or fairness

[Crash2Parties]

3. So shouldn't that render the election results invalid, at least as affected by those districts?

This is what, the third or fourth such state now?

[Valhallakey]

4. Essentially it is a loss

If the districts basically stay in place until the next census, because of the slow wheel of justice then we loose. Justice delayed is justice denied.

[Gothmog]

5. This is just the ruling on congressional districts

The court issued over 600 pages of rulings just on US congressional districts. The court has yet to rule on Texas state house seats.

[Sunlei]

6. Out here Tx. easy to see how Republicans gerrymander the maps to cut out neighborhoods.

ger·ry·man·der


/ˈjerēˌmandər/


verb

verb: gerrymander; 3rd person present: gerrymanders; past tense: gerrymandered; past participle: gerrymandered; gerund or present participle: gerrymandering; verb: jerrymander; 3rd person present: jerrymanders; past tense: jerrymandered; past participle: jerrymandered; gerund or present participle: jerrymandering



1.


manipulate the boundaries of (an electoral constituency) so as to favor one party or class.



•achieve (a result) by manipulating the boundaries of an electoral constituency.
"a total freedom to gerrymander the results they want"




noun

noun: gerrymander; plural noun: gerrymanders; noun: jerrymander; plural noun: jerrymanders



1.


an instance of gerrymandering.