Federal suit accuses Texas map of racial gerrymandering to aid GOP

Civil rights advocates filed a federal lawsuit in Texas on Tuesday to overturn a newly approved congressional map they say is designed to favor Republicans in the 2026 midterm elections and to diminish Black voters’ influence. The NAACP and the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law allege the map amounts to racial gerrymandering in violation of the Voting Rights Act, as Texas Republicans moved quickly to adopt a plan that would add five GOP-leaning districts. The filing comes as Gov. Greg Abbott indicated the measure would be signed into law, and as national attention intensifies over how mid-decade redistricting is reshaping political power.

The lawsuit contends that Texas legislative leaders drew the map with discriminatory intent, arguing that the state’s population is only about 40 percent white but that white voters hold more than 73 percent of the congressional seats. Civil rights leaders assert that the redistricting would systematically reduce the ability of Black and Brown communities to elect candidates of their choice. Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP, called the move a racially motivated attempt to shrink Black representation in Congress,...