The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for June 13, 2025
Tarrant County, Texas county commissioners approved a new county redistricting map June 3rd diluting the votes of Black and Hispanic voters, but commissioners claim the gerrymandering was for “political”, not racial reasons. The map likely eliminates a majority minority district, and has drawn widespread condemnation and a Voting Rights Act lawsuit.
County commissioners and senior county official, Judge Tim O’Hare, brought in the conservative Public Interest Legal Foundation and the National Republican Redistricting Trust to draw the map, according to reporting by Democracy Docket. Their efforts apparently manipulated the districts to gain another GOP county commission seat and a 4-1 advantage.
Analysis by the UCLA Voting Rights Project and Southern Methodist University found the approved map packed District 2 Black and Hispanic voters into District 1, reducing the chance a Black or Hispanic candidate would be elected in District 2. Because the county staggers election cycles for different districts, it also disenfranchised as many as 150,000 voters – heavily Black and Hispanic – who can’t vote in their current district’s 2026 election, and must wait until 2028.
Voters sued under the VRA, and the 14th and 15th amendments. The commissioners claim, similar to the Supreme Court’s Alexander vs. South Carolina NAACP decision, that they gerrymandered for political advantage, to which the Supreme Court turns a blind eye, not racial discrimination.
We have local reporting and the voters’ federal complaint at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org. I’m Brian Beihl.
Today’s Links
Articles & Resources:
Texas Tribune – (2021) Historically red Tarrant County diversified in the last decade. Now Republicans are trying to divide up its voters of color.
Tarrant County – Tarrant County Redistricting 2025
Fort Worth Telegram – Are Tarrant’s proposed redistricting maps racial gerrymanders? We asked experts
UCLA Voting Rights Project – Tarrant County Analysis
KDFW Fox 4 News – SMU researcher says proposed Tarrant County redistricting ‘diminishes’ voting power
U.S. District Court (via Democracy Docket) – Complaint in Jackson v. Tarrant County
CBS News Texas – Tarrant County citizens file lawsuit against new redistricting map
Groups Taking Action:
Common Cause TX, Lone Star Project
Register or Check Your Voter Registration:
U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your State
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