As Texas lawmakers push forward with mid-decade redistricting during the 89th Legislature’s special session, the Urban Leagues of Texas join the National Urban League in demanding an end to the weaponization of racial gerrymandering against Black and Brown Texans.

In late July and August 2025, state leaders advanced a map widely described as engineered to net up to five additional U.S. House seats for one party, effectively pre-deciding outcomes in 2026 rather than letting voters decide. Governor Abbott signed the plan at the end of August, sparking immediate lawsuits alleging racial vote dilution and constitutional violations. Beyond Texas, these moves set a dangerous precedent, inviting retaliatory mid-decade redraws in other states and fueling a national partisan arms race that erodes trust in democracy.

The Supreme Court’s decision in Allen v. Milligan reaffirmed that states have a constitutional duty to protect communities of color from racially discriminatory maps. Yet Texas continues its decades-long pattern of violating the Voting Rights Act. Even as Texas has become a majority-minority state, with over 95% of recent population growth coming from Black and Latino communities, the new map dilutes their influence so drastically that a single white vote can outweigh multiple votes from these communities. From Bush v. Vera (1996) to LULAC v. Perry (2006) and Abbott v. Perez (2018), redistricting in Texas has repeatedly diluted the voting power of Black, Latino, and working-class communities. The 2025 mid-decade map continues this pattern, collapsing or weakening majority people of color districts in Houston, Dallas–Fort Worth, and Austin, fracturing neighborhoods, and diminishing communities’ influence over schools, public health, housing, and economic opportunity.

The latest maps collapse multiracial districts in Harris County and Dallas–Fort Worth, diminish Hispanic electoral power, and impose unconstitutional racial population targets to limit Black influence. Minority voters now have fewer districts in which they can elect candidates of choice, eroding democratic representation across major metropolitan centers. These maps weaken access to essential public services, including housing, education, health care, and environmental protections— resources that fair representation should help deliver.

We demand that Texas lawmakers:

• Establish an Independent Redistricting Commission that reflects the state’s diversity and removes map-drawing power from partisan legislators.
• Pass a State-Level Voting Rights Act requiring racial impact analyses and prohibiting maps that dilute communities of color.
• Mandate Transparency and Public Input through accessible hearings, timely publication of proposed maps, and genuine community engagement.
• Use Race-Conscious, Community-Focused Criteria that preserve communities of interest and comply with the Voting Rights Act.
• Hold Legislators Accountable with enforceable penalties for intentional racial gerrymandering and expedited judicial review.

When lawmakers draw lines that silence Black and Brown voices, they violate not only the Constitution but the moral fabric of our democracy. Fair redistricting is not just a legal obligation— it is a moral imperative.

We call on the U.S. Department of Justice and the federal courts to block this discriminatory redistricting plan. We urge Texans and allies nationwide to stand with us by signing this petition, amplifying our demand for fair maps, and defending the voices of millions whose democratic rights are under attack.