Trump Administration Opposes a Return to Federal Oversight for Texas Redistricting, Reversing Obama-era stance

Style Magazine Newswire | 1/18/2019, 8:46 p.m.
In the latest about-face on voting rights under President Donald Trump, the U.S. Department of Justice no longer supports efforts …

TexasTribune.org

In the latest about-face on voting rights under President Donald Trump, the U.S. Department of Justice no longer supports efforts to force Texas back under federal oversight of its electoral map drawing. In legal filings this week, the Justice Department indicated it would side against the voters of color, civil rights groups and Democratic lawmakers who want a three-judge federal panel in San Antonio to require Texas to seek pre-approval of its legislative and congressional maps, given previous maps that the federal judges ruled discriminatory. It's the latest twist in the high-stakes legal fight that could return Texas to the days when it couldn't make changes to its maps without the Justice Department or a federal court first ensuring that state lawmakers weren't infringing on the political clout of voters of color — a voting rights safeguard that was in place for decades until 2013. And it’s the most recent reversal by the Justice Department in the case.

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