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Press Release For Immediate Release,
October 20, 2004
Contact: Lorraine Quiroga,
202-833-6130
Texas Redistricting Decision
Provides New Hope to Latinos
U.S. Supreme Court Orders Texas Court to Revisit
Approval of Redistricting Map
Washington, DC – The League of United
Latin American Citizens (LULAC) is commending
the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to require a
Texas court to review its approval of the
controversial redistricting map in Texas.
LULAC, along with other minority groups and
Texas democrats, filed an appeal last year to
ask the Supreme Court to review the
redistricting adopted by the
Republican-dominated Texas legislature. LULAC
has presented solid evidence that the plan is
clearly retrogressive and discriminatory and
will have a negative impact on minority voters
in the state. Unfortunately, a final decision on
the matter will not come for some time. The
Supreme Court decision will not affect the
upcoming elections which could cause a change in
as many as six seats in the Congress.
“We are confident that in the end the court will
decide that the redistricting violated the
Voting Rights Act and will not be allowed to
stand,” said LULAC National President Hector
Flores.
LULAC felt that the Texas court decision
effectively gutted the Voting Rights Act because
it allowed a plan to take effect that would
weaken minority districts in the state. “This
decision simply cannot remain in effect because
minority voters are particularly impacted,”
added Flores. “We must see that justice be
served and that all voters have the opportunity
to vote in properly drawn districts.”
“The National Office of LULAC will continue to
support the efforts to preserve minority voting
rights in Texas,” said National Executive
Director Brent Wilkes. “We are very aware of the
dangerous precedent that this decision will have
on the Voting Rights Act if it is allowed to
stand.”
The League of
United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) is the
oldest and largest Latino civil rights
organization in the United States. LULAC
advances the economic condition, educational
attainment, political influence, health, and
civil rights of Hispanic Americans through
community-based programs operating at more than
700 LULAC councils nationwide.
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