Gov. Greg Abbott signs Texas voting maps redrawn by Republicans

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, signed redrawn voting maps on Monday that will give the GOP a major boost ahead of the 2022 elections. The step will reinstate the Republicans slipping majority and opponents will hope the court blocks the newly gerrymandered districts before they can be used in the election.

Abbott signed the maps Monday, according to a spokeswoman for the governor. The governor’s office did not make an announcement.

Also Read: Senator Rand Paul rides on trans misinformation at Rachel Levine’s Senate hearing

Civil rights organisations have already filed federal lawsuits accusing GOP mapmakers of disenfranchising Hispanic and African-American people, who are fueling the state’s fast expansion. Republicans established no new districts where Latinos control a majority under the new U.S. House maps, despite the fact that Texas has grown by 4 million people since 2010.

The new maps bring an end to a tumultuous year in Texas over voting rights, with Democrats leaving the state last summer to launch a 38-day strike in protest of sweeping election reforms.

“The only time that communities of colour can get justice is going to the courthouse,” Democratic state Rep. Rafael Anchia said before the final vote on the maps in the Texas House last week, AP reported.

Also Read: South Dakota governor tightens grip on abortion medications

The state’s once-in-a-decade redistricting process, in which lawmakers decide how Texas’ nearly 30 million citizens are divided into electoral districts and who is chosen to represent them, has come to a conclusion with the freshly approved maps. In the 2020 census, Texas was the only state to get two new congressional seats, bolstering the state’s already considerable political weight.

The state’s Mexican American Legislative Caucus, who are mostly Democrats, are seeking documents over who had a hand in the drawing of the maps. Meanwhile, Texas Republicans have defended the maps, saying race was not taken into account, except for when preserving equal representation.

According to Census figures, more than 9 of 10 new Texans in the last decade were people of colour.

With inputs from the Associated Press