Good afternoon, thank you for coming today.
The Justice Department has filed suit
against the state of Texas for violating
section two of the Voting Rights Act.
As the Supreme Court has observed,
a core principle of our democracy
is that quote voters should
choose their representatives,
not the other way around.
Close quote.
Section two of the Voting Rights
Act requires that state voting laws,
including laws that draw electoral maps,
provide eligible voters with an
equal opportunity to participate
in the democratic process and elect
representatives of their choosing.
The complaint we filed today alleges
that Texas has violated Section
2 by creating redistricting plans
that deny or abridge the rights
of Latino and black voters to vote
on account of their race, color,
or membership in a language minority group.
In a moment,
associated Attorney General Gupta will
describe our complaint in more detail.
As many of you know,
in 2013 the Supreme Court effectively
eliminated the preclearance
provisions of the Voting Rights Act,
which had been the department's best
tool for protecting voting rights.
Earlier this year,
I noted that this redistricting cycle
would be the first to proceed since
1960 without the protection of preclearance.
But he also said that the department
would use all available authorities
and resources to continue protecting
the right to vote.
In September,
the department published guidance
based on decades of precedent,
explaining that Section 2 prohibits
vote dilution.
Vote dilution occurs when an electoral
practice minimizes or cancels out
the voting strength of members of a
racial group or language minority group.
When we issued that guidance,
I noted that Discrimina Tori
redistricting schemes are illegal
and that the department would assess
jurisdictions compliance with those
laws during this redistricting cycle.
The department's career voting law
experts have assessed Texas new
redistricting plans and determined
that they include districts that
violate the Voting Rights Act.
Last month we filed a separate
lawsuit against the state of Texas,
alleging that Texas Senate Bill one
improperly restricts the assistance.
Voters who have a disability or
who are unable to read or write
can receive in the voting booth.
Last week,
we filed a statement of interest in
Arizona litigation to explain that
private plaintiffs had plausibly
alleged that certain new voting
laws in that state were passed
with a discrimina Tori purpose.
We also filed a statement of interest
in Florida litigation explaining,
among other things,
that private parties can bring claims
to enforce the Voting Rights Act.
In all of these matters,
we have carefully assessed the facts
and the law before taking action.
I am grateful to the dedicated staff
of the voting section for their work
today and every day to protect the
right of all eligible citizens to vote.
Before I conclude,
I want to again urge Congress to
restore the Justice Department's
preclearance authority.
Or that preclearance tool still in place?
We would likely not be here
today announcing this complaint.
I will now turn the podium over
to Associate Attorney
General Gupta. Thank you.
Thank you, Attorney General Garland.
The right to vote is foundational to our
democracy and the Justice Department
is charged with protecting that right.
Today we are filing suit against the state
of Texas based on our determination that
Texas is 2021 redistricting plans violate
section two of the Voting Rights Act.
The department reached that
determination after a careful assessment
of the facts and the law.
I want to thank the career staff
of the Civil Rights Division's
voting section for their tremendous
efforts on this investigation.
Our complaint today alleges that
the redistricting plans approved
by the Texas State Legislature and
signed into law by the governor
will deny Black and Latino voters
an equal opportunity to participate
in the voting process and to elect
representatives of their choice in
violation of the Voting Rights Act.
Our complaint also alleges that
several of those districts were
drawn with Discrimina Tori intent.
Texas is 2021 redistricting plans
were enacted through a rushed process
with minimal opportunity for public
comment without any expert testimony
and with an overall disregard for
the massive minority population
growth in Texas over the last decade.
Texas's population grew by 4
million people from 2010 to 2020,
and 95% of that growth came
from minority populations.
Despite this significant increase in
the number and proportion of eligible
Latino and black voters in Texas,
the newly enacted redistricting
plans will not allow minority voters
an equal opportunity to elect
representatives of their choice.
Instead,
our investigation determined that
Texas redistricting plans will dilute
the increased minority voting strength
that should have developed from
these significant demographic shifts.
For example,
Texas will gain two new congressional
seats because of its population growth,
almost all of which is due to growth
in the state's minority population.
However,
Texas has designed both of those new
seats to have white voting majorities.
The congressional plan also
deliberately reconfigured a West
Texas district to eliminate the
opportunity for Latino voters to
elect a representative of their choice.
This is the third time in three decades
where Texas has eliminated a Latino
electoral opportunity in this same district.
Despite previous court determinations
that this violates the law.
And the State House plan eliminated
Latino electoral opportunities by
manipulating or eliminating districts
where Latino communities previously
had elected their preferred candidates.
These redistricting plans will
diminish the opportunities for Latino
and black voters in Texas to elect
their preferred representatives,
and that is prohibited by federal law.
The complaint asks the court to
prohibit Texas from conducting
elections under the challenge plans
and ask the court to devise to order
Texas to devise and implement new
redistricting plans that comply with
section two of the Voting Rights Act.
The complaint also asks the court
to establish interim plans pending
a lawful state redistricting.
This is not the first time Texas has
acted to minimize the voting rights of
its minority citizens decade after decade,
courts have found that Texas has enacted
redistricting plans that deliberately
dilute the voting strength of Latino
and black voters and that
violate the Voting Rights Act.
The Attorney general has made
clear that the Justice Department
will not stand idly by in the
face of unlawful attempts to
restrict access to the ballot.
Today's filing demonstrates
that commitment to this charge.
The Justice Department stands ready to
protect the constitutionally guaranteed
voting rights of Americans in Texas,
and indeed, throughout the country.
Thank you.