The Department of Justice on Monday sued Texas over its redistricting plan, alleging that the new maps dilute the power of Black and Latino voters who have fueled the state's population growth in the past decade.
Announcing the lawsuit, Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Justice Department found that the plans approved by the Texas legislature and signed by Gov. Greg Abbott "deny Black and Latino voters an equal opportunity to participate in the voting process and to elect representatives of their choice in violation of the Voting Rights Act."
Abbott approved the state's new political maps in October. Voting rights advocates warned that the maps would weaken the political power of Black and Latino voters in the state, Insider's Gwen Aviles previously reported.
During a brief press conference, Garland and Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta said Texas' redistricting plan failed to fairly reflect the marked growth in the state's minority population since 2010. Gupta, the third-ranking Justice Department official, said Texas approved the redistricting plan through a "rushed process" and "with an overall disregard for the massive minority population growth in Texas over the last decade."
The minority population, she said, accounted for 95 percent of Texas' population growth between 2010 and 2020.
"Despite the significant increase in the number and proportion of eligible Latino and Black voters in Texas, the newly enacted redistricting plans will not allow minority voters an equal opportunity to elect representatives of their choice," Gupta said.
Monday's lawsuit adds a new front to the Justice Department's legal battle with the Texas state government. In recent months, the Justice Department has sued Texas challenging the state's restrictive abortion ban, and contested Abbot's executive order prohibiting the transport of migrants. In November, the Justice Department alleged that new restrictions on voting in the state violated the Civil Rights Act.
Garland on Monday repeated his call for Congress to pass new voting rights legislation and restore parts of the Voting Rights Act that required certain states and local governments with histories of discrimination to clear election changes with the Justice Department. The Supreme Court effectively eliminated the Justice Department's so-called preclearance authority in 2013.
"I want to again urge Congress to restore the Justice Department's preclearance authority," Garland said Monday. "Were that preclearance tool still in place, we would likely not be here today, announcing this complaint."
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.