|
Fri Jan 20, 2012 at 04:18 PM CST
|
| Below is a statement from State Senator Wendy Davis on the SCOTUS opinion released today. Davis' district was hacked apart by the Republican gerrymander in an effort to run the Democrat out of office, and in so doing deny Fort Worth a Senate district anchored in the city.
Press release below, emphasis mine:
Sen. Wendy Davis Encouraged By SCOTUS Ruling That Allows For Changes Where "Reasonable Probability" of Violations Exist
WASHINGTON D.C. - Senator Wendy Davis said the opinion by the U.S. Supreme Court provides legitimacy to the prior action of the San Antonio court when it drew the interim Senate map and we are therefore hopeful that we will see them replicate their actions in drawing a new interim map. Davis is hopeful of such an outcome because there is a 'reasonable probability' that the Washington D.C. court will deny preclearance of the Senate map because it is intentionally discriminatory and harms black and Hispanic voters, and it seems likely the San Antonio court will enhance minority voting strength in Senate District 10 to fairly reflect the minority population growth.
"On behalf of the thousands of voters for whom we are fighting, we are delighted that the U.S. Supreme Court ordered that adjustments should be made where the San Antonio court has found the likelihood of Section 2 violations or a "reasonable probability" of Section 5 violations, which was exactly how the San Antonio panel of judges drew the current interim maps," Davis said from a federal courthouse in Washington D.C., where she testified today in the Section 5 trial on Texas' redistricting plans. "The interim Senate map kept districts in place as they were drawn by the Legislature, except in Senate District 10 where the San Antonio court redrew the district I represent because there are likely violations of Sections 2 and 5 of the Voting Rights Act."
###
|
|
|
|
|
|
