On Friday, a three-judge federal panel redrew several Texas Congressional districts after a long partisan battle with Election Day implications. The Supreme Court declared the existing map, redrawn in 2003 by the Republican controlled state Legislature, unconstitutional because it significantly weakened Hispanic strength in the 23rd Congressional District - a violation of section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
The expansive 23rd District currently stretches from El Paso County in the West to parts of Webb and Bexar (San Antonio) Counties in the South. Under the new plans, Webb County has been moved entirely into the 28th District, and Kerr, Kendall, Bandera, and Real Counties have been added to the 21st District.
Additionally, several solidly Hispanic neighborhoods in southern Bexar Country have been added to the 23rd District. Hispanics will constitute 61 percent of the voting-age population in the revised 23rd District, a 10 percent increase from the 2004 figure.
"These changes restore Latino voting strength to District 23 without dividing communities of interest," said the judges, Lee H. Rosenthal, T. John Ward and Patrick E. Higginbotham of Federal District Court.
For more information about Friday's decision, check out the panel's ruling and the new map (pdf).
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