Court Records Show Texas Flipped Its Stance on Use of Race in Drawing Maps

Texas said Wednesday it plans to redraw its congressional map, citing a claim by the U.S. Department of Justice that the current map is an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. 

But court records reviewed by Democracy Docket show the state lawmaker who drew those maps said in court just last month that she didn’t consider race in the process.

The apparent contradiction raises further questions about Texas’ decision to conduct a rare mid-decade redistricting, which came after pressure from the Trump White House as it looks to boost the GOP’s chances of maintaining control of Congress next year.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) this week added a redraw of the state’s congressional map to the agenda for the upcoming legislative special session starting July 21. Abbott cited “constitutional concerns raised by the U.S. Department of Justice” as the reason for the move. 

A letter sent Monday by DOJ officials said Texas had unconstitutionally used race in drawing four of its districts, and urged it to “rectify these race-based considerations.” All four districts have minority representatives, and three are located in Houston, a Democratic power center.

The letter concluded by threatening to sue the state of Texas if it failed to redraw the current map.

The letter’s “evident purpose is to provide a justification for Texas if it redraws those four districts,” Guy-Uriel E. Charles, a professor at Harvard Law School, wrote online Friday.

Texas’ quick acceptance of the Justice Department’s concerns sharply contrasts with the line it has taken in an ongoing lawsuit.

After Texas redistricted in 2021, voting rights advocates challenged the new maps in court, arguing lawmakers drew racially gerrymandered districts that discriminated against minority voters in violation of the 14th Amendment. That case is still being litigated, and the trial began May 21.

State Sen. Joan Huffman (R), who chaired the 2021 Senate Redistricting Committee, repeatedly testified that race wasn’t a factor in determining the maps.

“I drew the maps blind to race,” Huffman told the court June 10, according to court transcripts. “So I certainly took into consideration whoever wanted to talk with me. I certainly talked to people. But I drew the maps blind to race.”

Huffman also said at a legislative hearing that the maps were “drawn blind to race.” Pro-voting plaintiffs filed an emergency motion Thursday to reopen testimony in the case, saying testimony given during the trial is inconsistent with the state’s current stance on redistricting.

“New evidence reveals that witnesses…potentially falsely testified that Texas’s congressional map was drawn without consideration of race,” the motion said, adding that the testimony is “flatly contradictory” with Abbott “approvingly citing” the DOJ letter as the reason for a new redistricting effort.

“One or the other is false, and Plaintiffs and the Court are entitled to probe whether key witnesses truthfully testified at deposition and at trial – on the central question in this case – given this new evidence,” the motion said.

Last year, in the landmark Petteway v. Galveston County case, the 5th Circuit ruled that the federal Voting Rights Act does not permit minority-coalition districts, in a stunning reversal of precedent.

In light of the Petteway ruling, the DOJ in its letter argued the four targeted congressional districts are now unconstitutional because they were drawn as a result of federal court orders that instructed Texas to create minority-coalition seats. As a result, the DOJ argued, they impermissibly took account of race.

Republicans already control 25 of Texas’ 38 congressional seats – a percentage that far exceeds that of their overall vote-share in the state. But the White House, with an eye on maintaining control of Congress in next year’s midterms, has pressured Texas to draw an even-more GOP-friendly map. 

And it appears state leaders are happy to oblige.

Some plaintiffs in the Texas redistricting lawsuit are represented by the Elias Law Group (ELG). ELG Firm Chair Marc Elias is the founder of Democracy Docket.

This story has been updated with additional details.