Blue Utopia Blog
Racially Gerrymandered Districts
Sat, Mar 11, 2017 - 01:38 PM
The GOP-controlled Texas Legislature approved redistricting maps in 2011. On Friday, a federal court ruled that at least 3 districts were illegally drawn along racial lines in order to maximize Republicans' chances to retain the seats. According to the opinion, the redistricting showed a hostility not just toward Democrat districts, but to minority districts and a willingness to use race for partisan advantage.
The decision is a big win for electoral fairness, particularly for minorities but it is but a single small victory in a system that has created a huge number of uncompetitive districts in nearly every state. It is a system that has been tilted in favor of keeping Republicans in control at the expense of democracy and electoral fairness. The big takeaway from this should be a need to invest in state & local elections to reverse this trend.
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