AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has signed redrawn voting maps that pave a safer path for the GOP’s slipping majority.
Abbott signed the maps Monday near the end of a highly charged year in Texas over voting rights. Democrats say the maps disenfranchise Hispanic and Black voters who have driven the state’s exponential growth over the last decade. Civil rights are also asking courts to block the maps before they can be used in the 2022 midterm elections.
Abbott’s signature marks an end to the state’s one-in-a-decade redistricting process, in which lawmakers decide how Texas’ nearly 30 million residents are sorted into political districts.