A federal judge has ordered Texas lawmakers to turn over documents related to its redistricting plans in a suit alleging the state is attempting to dilute the power of Latino voters and weaken existing Latino majority districts. Via CourthouseNews
The latest round of redistricting in Texas began again after the 2020 census — and Texas voters may be feeling a sense of déjà vu.from last October, the League of United Latin American Citizens — which was also a plaintiff in the 2003 case — argued state officials were once again trying to “unlawfully dilute the voting strength of Latinos.” They asked for a permanent injunction requiring the state to redraw its voting maps.
“The failure…to create at least one additional Latino majority House district statewide means that Latinos have lost voting strength in Texas,” the lawsuit alleges. It also alleges other irregularities in the redistricting plan from last year, including a “highly compressed legislative process” which “failed to allow any invited testimony” and in which the Texas Legislature “departed from its normal procedures.”the court to dismiss the case.
The Department of Justice, meanwhile, has continued its efforts to enforce subpoenas. The feds argue Texas officials have “inappropriately” claimed attorney-client privilege, refused to turn over documents from decades ago and “advanced an overbroad conception” of legislative privilege that has withheld “even communications with members of the public.” As a result, they say, lawmakers have disclosed “merely one-third” of the documents requested in subpoenas.
While Texas lawmakers asserted attorney-client privilege, the judge ruled they could not simply decline to release any documents referencing legal analysis, including scheduling calendars and communications with outside firms involved in redistricting. These documents are not “categorically privileged,” he wrote.
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