NAACP Sues Texas Over Redrawn Congressional Maps, Says It Limits Black Voting Power

The NAACP has filed a lawsuit against Texas, alleging that the state’s redrawing of its congressional maps is an act of racial gerrymandering. The organization points to a push back against the voting power of Black people in Texas and says it is a violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.

“We now see just how far extremist leaders are willing to go to push African Americans back toward a time when we were denied full personhood and equal rights,” Texas NAACP president Gary Bledsoe said in a statement, according to The Guardian. “We call on Texans of every background to recognize the dangers of this moment. Our democracy depends on ensuring that every person is counted fully, valued equally and represented fairly. We are prepared to fight this injustice at every level. Our future depends on it.”

Texas passed a redrawn map that’s expected to increase Republican representation in Congress

Texas Republicans passed the new map on Aug. 23. It’s expected to fill five more congressional seats with Republican representatives. On their end, Democrats are a minority that doesn’t have much power to counter Republicans. 

The NAACP said the goal is to limit representation of Black communities in the state ahead of the midterm elections in 2026: “The state of Texas is only 40% white, but white voters control over 73% of the state’s congressional seats,” NAACP CEO and president Derrick Johnson said. “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.”

The League of United Latin American Citizens has also filed a lawsuit, alleging it “eviscerates minorities’ opportunity to elect their candidates of choice in four key areas of the state.”

The Supreme Court will soon vote on some of the tenets of the Voting Rights Act

The court is set to hear an argument of Louisiana v Callais, during which they will decide if the “use of racially identifying voter data to prevent voters of color from being able to select a candidate of their choice is actually an act of racial discrimination,” according to The Guardian.

This means the Supreme Court will vote on whether to uphold a key section of the Voting Rights Act. If they decide not to uphold it, Republican lawmakers will be able to redraw maps to their advantage.

The NAACP urged states like California and New York to “act immediately by redistricting and passing new, lawful and constitutional electoral maps” ahead of the midterms.