Texas election map for 2026 is racially biased, voting-rights advocates
say in lawsuit
[August 27, 2025]
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Voting-rights advocates sued Tuesday
to overturn a redistricting map drawn by Texas Republicans meant to
favor the party in the 2026 midterm elections, saying it weakens the
electoral influence of Black voters.
The NAACP and the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law filed the
lawsuit in Texas.
They accuse Texas legislative leaders of engaging in gerrymandering to
prevent Black voters from electing candidates of their choice.
“The state of Texas is only 40 percent white, but white voters control
over 73 percent of the state’s congressional seats,” Derrick Johnson,
President and CEO of the NAACP, said in a statement. “It’s quite obvious
that Texas’s effort to redistrict mid-decade, before next year’s midterm
elections, is racially motivated. The state’s intent here is to reduce
the members of Congress who represent Black communities, and that, in
and of itself, is unconstitutional.”
Since the Voting Rights Act was adopted, the state of Texas has been
found to have discriminated against Black and/or Brown citizens after
every cycle of redistricting, according to the NAACP.
Black residents for decades have overwhelmingly favored Democratic
candidates.
Texas lawmakers approved the map Saturday, adding five new districts
favoring Republicans. The move came after President Donald Trump
requested it.
The effort by Trump and Texas’ Republican-majority Legislature prompted
state Democrats to hold a two-week walkout and kicked off a wave of
redistricting efforts across the country. California Gov. Gavin Newsom
in response has approved a special election for a redrawn map to help
Democrats win more seats.
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Republican Sen. Phil King, the Texas measure’s sponsor, previously
denied accusations alleging that the redrawn districts violate the
Voting Rights Act by diluting voters’ influence based on race.
“I had two goals in mind: That all maps would be legal and would be
better for Republican congressional candidates in Texas,” he said.
The U.S. Supreme Court in 2019 ruled that the Constitution does not
prohibit partisan gerrymandering to increase a party’s clout, only
gerrymandering that’s explicitly done by race.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who has not yet signed the map into law, has
predicted it will survive any court challenges. Abbott also has
predicted other Republican-led states will make similar moves
seeking new seats for the GOP in Congress.
The NAACP also on Tuesday urged all other states to act immediately
by redistricting and passing what it called new, lawful and
constitutional electoral maps.
“It may still seem far away, but the 2026 midterm elections will
determine whether our democracy still holds on or whether the people
surrender their power to a king,” Johnson said earlier this month.
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