The 2018 midterm elections are approaching, leading to great anticipation and desire to interpret the Federal Court ruling on Texas congressional districts. Redrawing the boundaries would upset the political balance and possibly swing several districts to the Democratic party. The resulting shifts in power could change the course of legislation and government appointments.
A ruling has finally been issued on the Texas gerrymandering case that was first brought forward in 2011. After the 2010 census, the Republican majority legislature redrew the congressional districts to dilute the votes of minorities per the ruling. Although it is perfectly legal to redraw per political opinion, it is unconstitutional and violates the Voting Rights Act to redraw for racially motivated reasons.
Three districts have been the center of controversy and one of them is held by a Democrat. This district is believed to have been drawn to give the illusion that the legislature is following the voting rights act. The previous six years have seen a protracted legal battle between Texas and the Obama Administration along with the Department of Justice. Latino and Black voters are ruled to have been intentionally suppressed to give a majority of support to white Republican leadership.
Texas is running out of time to appeal the case to the Supreme Court and the ruling would possibly start a domino effect in other districts. There is also the likelihood that the state would fall back under federal supervision due to the combined scandals of the gerrymandering and voter ID laws.
Section 3 of the Voting Rights Act has a prevision to place states found to have discriminated in voting laws to be placed under federal supervision and require clearance before laws go into effect. Under this provision, the court could appoint a supervisor to monitor the election laws. Attorney General Jeff Sessions could be bypassed by the courts for having a sympathetic stance towards the Texas legislature, appointing a different court to the supervisor position.
Gerrymandering is nothing new and both parties actively encourage it to maximize their support and weaken opposition. In most districts, it is now almost impossible for a challenger to gather enough support to run in the primary election, much less be any threat in the general election. Congressmen run virtually unopposed now and essentially do not answer to voters anymore. This process leads to voter apathy and no choice in elections. Two bills occurring in both the Texas Senate and House have proposed an independent commission to oversee district redrawing to prevent gerrymandering.
The time for candidates to register their candidacy for the 2018 elections are rapidly approaching, which limits the time Texas must appeal the court decision and leaves the district status in limbo. The court has not finished their analysis on Texas State House districts, leading to more ambiguity on the future. The possibility of Texas being placed back under pre-clearance is being considered after the consecutive Voter ID law and gerrymandering rulings.
