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A federal appeals court upheld Tarrant County's controversial 2025 redistricting map, dismissing claims that it discriminated against Black and Latino voters. Tarrant County commissioners approved the redistricting proposal in early June. The restricting maps sparked weeks of controversy and criticism from residents, local leaders, and civil rights advocates who called for the process to be halted due to a lack of transparency and potential racial gerrymandering. This ruling by the 5th Circuit Court followed a lawsuit filed in June 2025 by plaintiffs who alleged the new map violated the Voting Rights Act and the 14th and 15th Amendments. In the 5th Circuit's ruling, it stated that the district court found that the plaintiffs did not show that the Commissioners Court acted with race as a motivating factor when it adopted Map 7. However, the ruling also states, "It's no secret that race and party affiliation are often highly correlated. The Supreme Court has acknowledged as much." Three-judge district court says the redistricting impact tied more to partisanship than race "Although we acknowledge that the disproportionate effect of the County's redistricting on black and Latino voters is relevant, we think its probative value is quite limited in this case. An obvious explanation for the disparity exists: race and partisanship are highly correlated in Tarrant County, and districting decisions driven by partisanship will often have disparate racial effects. But 'a jurisdiction may engage in constitutional political gerrymandering, even if it so happens that the most loyal Democrats happen to be black Democrats and even if the State were conscious of that fact.' The Challengers' burden is to show that the Commissioners Court adopted Map 7 'because of, not merely in spite of, its adverse effects' on minority voters." The Tarrant County redistricting map timeline April 2, 2025: The Commissioners Court voted 3–2 to hire the Virginia-based Public Interest Law Foundation (PILF) to handle mid-decade redistricting ahead of the 2026 elections. Spring 2025: The County posted five draft maps on its website and held public hearings in each precinct to gather feedback. Late May 2025: Five days before the final vote, two brand-new maps — Maps 6 and 7 — were suddenly added to the County's website. June 3, 2025: During the Commissioners Court meeting, one commissioner pushed to approve Map 7, while another asked to delay the vote so the public could have more time to review it. The motion to postpone failed in another tight 3–2 vote, and Map 7 was adopted by the same margin. Aftermath: The old map had two majority-Republican and two majority-Democrat precincts. Map 7 shifts that balance to three Republican-majority precincts and just one Democratic-majority precinct. It also changes the racial makeup from two majority-minority districts to only one majority-minority and three majority-white districts. Tarrant County Judge defends redistricting process Tarrant County Judge Tim O'Hare spearheaded this process and has been clear that it was about politics: He wanted another Republican seat on the court to ensure conservative leadership for the next decade. "It's a very divided country and the parties, I'm not sure, have never been further apart in their beliefs," O'Hare previously said. "I don't apologize for being a Republican. I don't apologize for being a conservative." "It's not partisan. It is racism." "Absolutely, it's not partisan. It is racism," Commissioner Alisa Simmons said during the June meeting. On Wednesday, Simmons said the court's decision is not shocking. "This decision by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals is not shocking, as it comes from a circuit court that has consistently shown its willingness to weaken fundamental voting protections," Simmons said in a statement. "The Court has acted in utter disregard of the Voting Rights Act and its key provisions by allowing the adoption of a redistricting plan that destroys the voting strength of our large, established, and growing minority population."
