Washington, D.C. — Today, the U.S. Supreme Court voted 5-4 to uphold Texas’ congressional and state legislative districts—except one—against charges that they were drawn in a racially discriminatory manner. The conservative majority rejected a challenge that asserted the districts were gerrymandered to dilute the voting power of African Americans and Latinos. In response, Jake Faleschini, director of the Federal Courts program at the Center for American Progress, issued the following statement:
Today, the Supreme Court went out of its way to help the state of Texas discriminate against racial minorities. This ruling allows the Texas Legislature to continue to muzzle the political clout of African American and Latino voters. Texas has a long history of drawing legislative districts to suppress minority voting power, and this effort was no different. Gerrymandering remains one of the most effective ways to disenfranchise minority voters. It is deeply unfortunate that the court’s conservative majority remains blind to the disturbing record in this case.
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