Texas asks court to stop redistricting plan

[November 29, 2011]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court has been asked to stop a federal court from implementing a state redistricting map in Texas that could increase minority representation in the state Legislature.

The state's attorney general, Greg Abbott, filed the request with the high court on Monday. The court-drawn map was drafted after minority groups challenged the original plan passed by the Republican-dominated state Legislature.

The map drawn by the San Antonio-based federal court could lead to greater minority representation and give Democrats a chance to add as many as a dozen seats in the Legislature. Abbott and other Republican leaders have denied that any of the legislature's redistricting maps would diminish minority voting power.

The court-ordered map will remain in place until the legal fights are resolved.

[Associated Press]

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