TOP: Supreme Court Greenlights Texas’ Racially Gerrymandered Map, Effectively Silencing Black & Latino Voters

Decision hands GOP 30 of 38 congressional seats & shows the ongoing dismantling of the Voting Rights Act

Statement from Brianna Brown, Co-Executive Director of the Texas Organizing Project: “The Supreme Court’s ruling to allow Texas Republicans to use this gerrymandered congressional map is an insult to Black and Latino Texans whose voting power has already been systematically targeted and diminished. Let’s be clear about what this ruling means: a map engineered to give Republicans control of 30 of Texas’ 38 congressional seats — up from the 25 they currently hold — will now shape our elections while a legal battle over racial discrimination drags on.

“This ruling hands Governor Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton another win in their decade-long mission to entrench minority rule in Texas. From defending racially discriminatory maps, to fighting federal oversight of voting rights, Abbott and Paxton have abused every bit of state power to weaken the political voice of Black and Latino Texans.

“For years, Texas lawmakers have manipulated district lines to silence Black and Latino voters, even as these communities drive nearly all of the state’s population growth.

“This is what the erosion of the Voting Rights Act looks like. When federal courts refuse to stop racial discrimination that is staring them in the face, they’re telling Black and Latino Texans that their voices and their votes don’t matter. TOP rejects that premise, full stop. And we’re not backing down.

“TOP will continue organizing in every corner of this state because no partisan map, no matter how rigged, can erase the power of communities fighting for a Texas that works for all of us — regardless of age, race, faith, gender, or income.”

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