(DailyEmailNews.com) – In a major conservative win, a federal appeals court recently ruled that voters from two different minority groups in Texas cannot join forces to challenge a political map they argue diminishes their voting power.
This decision may favor Republicans seeking congressional seats in the South.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling impacts the use of the Voting Rights Act, which conservative critics claim Democrats have exploited to make up voting districts in their favor in Galveston, Texas.
The decision could reshape the political scene not only in Texas but also in Louisiana and Mississippi, which also fall within the 5th Circuit’s jurisdiction.
This could potentially flip several seats from Democrats to Republicans.
Known as Petteway v. Galveston County, the case was based on the interpretation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which forbids discriminatory voting practices based on race or color.
The court found that Section 2 does not endorse the concept of coalition districts, where no single minority group is the majority, but collectively, they could form one.
Previously, Galveston County had a district that combined its black and Hispanic populations.
A black Democrat represented this district until the 2021 redistricting eliminated it, triggering lawsuits from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the Justice Department.
They argued that such coalition districts are required under the Voting Rights Act.
Initially, both a federal district court judge and a three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit sided against Galveston County.
However, the full court later reversed these decisions in a 12-6 vote. It stated that claims based on minority coalitions conflict with the clear wording of Section 2 and previous Supreme Court rulings against similar vote dilution claims by sub-majorities.
This ruling paused the creation of coalition districts that might favor Democrats in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.
Currently, this decision could impact several Texas House districts held by Democrats. It also aligns the 5th Circuit with the 6th Circuit’s 1996 position, which also found that Section 2 does not recognize coalition districts.
The ruling may influence other circuits, like the 11th Circuit, to reconsider their stance on this issue.
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