U.S Justice Department sues Texas

The US Justice Department has filed a voting rights suit against Texas over its plan to redraw voting districts

The department says that the changes minimise the significance of ballots cast by Black and Latino voters, making their votes count less than those of their fellow citizens.

The Attorney General says the re-districting plan being implemented by Texas violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act which prevents voters from being denied equal access to the political process based on their race or ethnicity.

There has also been a mention of the two new seats in Texas which were “designed to have Anglo voting majorities”.

The lawsuit filed says “Texas also eliminated Latino electoral opportunities in the State House plan through manipulation or outright elimination of districts where Latino communities previously had elected their preferred candidates.”

This marks the second voting rights-related lawsuit filed against the conservative state this year.