Fed Court: Texas Redistricting Discriminatory

Here we go again.  Same song, umpteenth verse.  The Austin American-Statesman reports a panel of federal judges in Washington DC has rejected the redistricting maps drawn up by the Texas legislature last year.

The three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that the new U.S. House and Texas Senate districts were deliberately drawn to discriminate against minority voters, ergo, they violate the US Voting Rights Act of 1964.

The judges upheld the Justice Department's refusal to approve the maps, saying the state has failed to meet its obligation under the Voting Rights Act to show that the maps did not "have the effect of denying or abridging the right to vote on account of race or color, or language minority group."

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott says it's a bad ruling and he will appeal it to the US Supreme Court.

The ruling is not expected to affect the November elections, because the temporary maps drawn up by a San Antonio federal judge will be used.