A group of Tarrant County residents who sued over the county\u2019s redistricting process did not prove the new map is racially discriminatory, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Tarrant County\u2019s Republican commissioners pushed through an unusual mid-decade redistricting process<\/a> earlier this year. They argued their plan was to grow their majority on the court, and race had nothing to do with it. Critics said the new map illegally diluted the power of Black and brown voters, packing them into a single precinct.<\/p>\n The county has been sued twice over the new map, and judges have declined to block the maps in both<\/a> cases<\/a>. The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that decision in the first lawsuit, Jackson et. al. v. Tarrant County<\/a>, in a ruling Wednesday.<\/p>\n The judges acknowledged that Black and Latino voters were disproportionately affected by redistricting, but that doesn’t prove commissioners had racially discriminatory intent, they decided.<\/p>\n \u201cAn obvious explanation for the disparity exists: race and partisanship are highly correlated in Tarrant County, and districting decisions driven by partisanship will often have disparate racial effects,\u201d the ruling reads.<\/p>\n The judges also dismissed the argument that Republican County Judge Tim O\u2019Hare\u2019s remarks in an interview with NBC 5 about redistricting proved any racial intent.<\/p>\n \u201cThe policies of Democrats continue to fail Black people over and over and over, but many of them keep voting them in,\u201d O\u2019Hare said. \u201cIt\u2019s time for people of all races to understand the Democrats are a lost party, they are a radical party, it\u2019s time for them to get on board with us and we\u2019ll welcome them with open arms.\u201d<\/p>\n That statement seems to be an expression of ordinary partisan politics, the court ruled.<\/p>\n Opponents of redistricting criticized the law firm the county hired to run the redistricting process, the Public Interest Legal Foundation<\/a>, for refusing to answer questions about its maps at public meetings.<\/p>\n It makes sense that a government entity trying out some likely-unpopular partisan gerrymandering would want to \u201cavoid an extensive, public process,\u201d the court wrote.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile that may not be consistent with the best practices of good government, it is hardly suggestive of racial motivation,\u201d the ruling reads.<\/p>\n The lawsuit also argued some voters would be disenfranchised by being forced to wait to vote in their next county commissioner race. Commissioners serve for four years, but their terms are staggered \u2013 meaning some people who would have voted for their commissioner in 2026 have to wait until 2028 under the new maps.<\/p>\n That\u2019s a natural consequence of redistricting, the Fifth Circuit decided.<\/p>\n The ruling is “disappointing but not at all surprising,” said Matt Angle with the Lone Star Project, a Texas Democratic group.<\/p>\n “Anybody with eyes that see knows that the intentionally discriminatory map forced upon voters by O\u2019Hare rips neighborhoods apart and ruthlessly undermines the voting rights of Tarrant County citizens,” Angle said in an emailed statement. “The job to uphold justice now turns to Tarrant County voters. Tim O\u2019Hare clearly holds them in contempt and will be held accountable next fall.”<\/p>\n O’Hare is up for reelection next year.<\/p>\n Mid-decade redistricting went from unusual to common this year. The state of Texas kicked off a nationwide gerrymandering war by redrawing its Congressional maps<\/a> to benefit Republicans, another effort that\u2019s facing legal scrutiny<\/a>.<\/p>\n This story has been updated with comment from Matt Angle.<\/p>\n Got a tip? Email Miranda Suarez at msuarez@kera.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n