Texas, U.S. Resume Fight Over Maps That Curb Latino Power

*This is happening this week in a courtroom in San Antonio, TX.  It’s a nuanced lawsuit that attempts to redefine the legal parameters of gerrymandering. That’s right, in Texas gerrymandering is OK, if drawn along partisan lines. The nuance is that drawing a majority GOP district dilutes the power of Latino voters who overwhelmingly lean Democratic. We’ll see if that argument sells in a Texas court of law. VL

By Laurel Brubaker Calkins, Bloomberg Businessweek

Texas and voting-rights activists supported by the U.S. government will resume a three-year battle over claims that Republican lawmakers intentionally drew Congressional districts to curb the political power of the state’s growing Latino population.

Texas seeks to convince a three-judge federal panel today in San Antonio that its voter maps were designed to improve re-election chances for Republican incumbents and weaken Democrats, not dilute minority voting strength.

“Partisan gerrymandering” is legal, the state said. The federal government and civil-rights activists contend the state is making a distinction without a difference, because minorities tend to vote for Democrats in Texas.

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[Photo by Texas Governor Rick Perry/Flickr]