TX GOP Redistriciting Violated Voting Rights Act

[Nbadan]

Voting Rights Finding On Plan Pushed by DeLay Was Overruled
Friday, December 2, 2005; Page A01

Justice Department lawyers concluded that the landmark Texas congressional redistricting plan spearheaded by Rep. Tom DeLay (R) violated the Voting Rights Act, according to a previously undisclosed memo obtained by The Washington Post. But senior officials overruled them and approved the plan.

The memo, unanimously endorsed by six lawyers and two analysts in the department's voting section, said the redistricting plan illegally diluted black and Hispanic voting power in two congressional districts. It also said the plan eliminated several other districts in which minorities had a substantial, though not necessarily decisive, influence in elections.

"The State of Texas has not met its burden in showing that the proposed congressional redistricting plan does not have a discriminatory effect," the memo concluded.

The memo also found that Republican lawmakers and state officials who helped craft the proposal were aware it posed a high risk of being ruled discriminatory compared with other options.

more:Washington Post

Now we're talking!

[Vashner]

Those charges against Delay are weak. I don't see how they can win that case.

Actually Whites are the minority in Texas not hispanics. So I don't see how that statement applies.

The memo, unanimously endorsed by six lawyers and two analysts in the department's voting section, said the redistricting plan illegally diluted black and Hispanic voting power in two congressional districts. It also said the plan eliminated several other districts in which minorities had a substantial, though not necessarily decisive, influence in elections.

[Nbadan]

Tom Delay gerrymandered congressional districts in Texas to give Republicans a majority in the U.S. Congress. It doesn't matter what ethniticity is the majority in Texas, districts can be configured to 'lessen' large blocks of 'targeted' voters. Since Republicans have been unable to crack the virtual strangle-hold Democrats have on the minority vote in the state, Delay as his TX Republican cronies targeted hispanic and Black blocs of voters.

[gtownspur]

Who cares. Redistricting is done to gain power, not to personally go after minorities. If it were the other way around, the democrats would redistrict Cuban and Asian populations because they are heavily republican, not because they hate mambo music and despise people with slanted eyes.

NbaDan, we all know that if a bunch of illegal immigrants were granted amnesty, and happened to be very social conservative, you'd be the first to want to ship them back to their homelands.

[gtownspur]

Tom Delay gerrymandered congressional districts in Texas to give Republicans a majority in the U.S. Congress. It doesn't matter what ethniticity is the majority in Texas, districts can be configured to 'lessen' large blocks of 'targeted' voters. Since Republicans have been unable to crack the virtual strangle-hold Democrats have on the minority vote in the state, Delay as his TX Republican cronies targeted hispanic and Black blocs of voters.

Gerrymandering is legal. SO what!

[Nbadan]

Who cares. Redistricting is done to gain power, not to personally go after minorities. If it were the other way around, the democrats would redistrict Cuban and Asian populations because they are heavily republican, not because they hate mambo music and despise people with slanted eyes.

NbaDan, we all know that if a bunch of illegal immigrants were granted amnesty, and happened to be very social conservative, you'd be the first to want to ship them back to their homelands.

Just so happens that in this case TX Republicans, including Delay, knowingly violated the U.S. Voting Rights Act. Power move or not, its very unethical and illegal.

[gtownspur]

No they didn't. That's cake spin. Nobody has been denied the right to vote.