Washington, D.C. – Today, Eric H. Holder, Jr., 82nd Attorney General of the United States and chairman of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, released the following statement on Texas’ congressional map proposal: 

“The congressional map released today by the Texas State Senate is a blatant partisan power grab that fails to accurately reflect 2020 Census data, which clearly showed that the vast majority of Texas’ population growth was centered in urban and suburban areas and that this growth consisted almost entirely of people of color. 

“The Texas Legislature has the opportunity to undo the proposed gerrymandering scheme and draw a fair map that accurately reflects the population shifts from the last decade. As it now stands, Republicans are proposing a gerrymandered map that clearly ignores both the Census data and community input. Voters in the Lone Star State are entitled to fair representation and fair maps, and we will accept nothing less. This map is not that.

“This map makes abundantly clear that Congress must pass the Freedom to Vote Act, and do so quickly. The Republican efforts in Texas and around the country to suppress the vote and gerrymander the redistricting process are a critical threat to American democracy. The Freedom to Vote Act will help stop this type of egregious attack on our democracy by banning partisan gerrymandering, strengthening protections for communities of color, and putting the power in the hands of the people where it belongs.”

Map Highlights: 

• Texas legislators purposely did not create a single competitive seat across 38 districts. 

• Despite the fact that the growth in Texas came almost entirely from people of color, the map actually increases the number of majority-white districts.

• The votes from the cities and suburbs of and around El Paso, San Antonio, Austin, Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth are drastically diluted.

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