The U.S. Department of Justice is among groups suing two Southern states for alleging drawing voting district maps that discriminate against people of color, but lawmakers in the Republican-led states said they drew the maps race-blind.
Texas and North Carolina redistricting leaders said they did not consider racial data while constructing the maps based on U.S. Census population data from 2020. The maps outline the voting lines for the next decade.
“I’ve stated it, and I’ll state it again — we drew these maps race-blind,” Houston Republican state Sen. Joan Huffman said during a redistricting hearing. “We have not looked at any racial data as we drew these maps, and to this day, I have not looked at any racial data.”
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The Department of Justice, in its lawsuit, said Texas’ new district maps discriminate against Black voters and disregards growth in the Latino population.
Voting advocates suing North Carolina claim that lawmakers did not consider the needs of the majority-minority districts by excluding racial data, which violates the state’s constitution and the Voting Rights Act. According to the department, the act prohibits redistricting plans that are discriminatory or have discriminatory outcomes.
North Carolina Republicans said they left out the racial data because they were previously sued for it in the past. A federal court ordered the state to redraw 28 districts found to be racial gerrymanders in 2016.
“We have been presented with no evidence that anything has changed since that decision from just a few years ago,” North Carolina Senate Republicans spokesperson Pat Ryan told CNN.
