Minority Voters Sue Over Tarrant Co. Gerrymander Drawn by National Republicans

By Jen Rice

A sign that says “polling place” points voters toward the polls on Election Day in November 2020. (Adobe Stock)

A group of minority voters in Tarrant County, Texas filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday accusing local Republicans of racial gerrymandering, a day after GOP leaders approved a new map designed to shrink the voting power of Black and brown residents. 

The GOP-controlled Tarrant County Commissioners Court – the county’s governing body – adopted a map created by the national GOP’s top map-drawer and a leading anti-voting law firm based in Washington, D.C. 

Wednesday’s lawsuit comes after opponents had repeatedly warned the redistricting maneuver, which aims to move many of the county’s minority residents into a single precinct, likely would result in Tarrant County footing the bill for a costly legal challenge. 

The plaintiffs argue the map intentionally discriminates against minority communities, violating the Voting Rights Act and the U.S. Constitution. They are represented by Texas-based voting rights attorney Chad Dunn. 

“Intentional discrimination is still against the law,” Dunn said in a statement. “The map they drew, the process they used to draw it, and the animosity shown to the citizens of Tarrant County violate the Voting Rights Act and the Constitution.”

Dunn previously represented Harris County – home to Houston – in a 2021 lawsuit challenging redistricting maps that Democrats drew up to win a fourth seat on the commissioners court.

GOP commissioners have maintained that their goal is partisan rather than racial. They say they are seeking to flip a seat on the court from Democrat to Republican to increase their majority, not target Black and brown voters. 

However, an analysis by the UCLA Voting Rights Project found the map demonstrates “a consistent pattern of racial packing” that dilutes the power of minority voters, who make up a clear majority of the county’s population. 

The complaint notes that the County Judge Tim O’Hare, who chairs the commission, said in his 2022 election campaign: “if you’re a Republican officeholder and you haven’t been called a racist, then you probably haven’t done a thing”

Traditionally a conservative stronghold, Tarrant County has become more diverse, and more Democratic, in recent years. The plaintiffs’ complaint notes that the Black and Hispanic populations have grown in Tarrant County, while the Anglo population has decreased. 

It also accuses Republican leaders of rushing the county through a hasty, opaque redistricting process with little public input and no presentation of demographic data analysis.