(CN) — A group of Black and Latino voters told a U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals panel Monday that Texas’ third-most populous county is using redistricting to disenfranchise minority and Democratic voters.
Known as the largest red county in the country, Tarrant County has historically been considered a Republican stronghold, but a major demographic shift in recent decades has made the county increasingly racially diverse and politically competitive, with Joe Biden winning it by 0.22% in 2020.
Despite this, however, Republicans are determined to maintain their grip on the county’s Commissioners Court, the governing body of the county. In an effort to do so, the court’s current 3-2 Republican majority has embarked on a mid-decade redistricting effort, voting along party lines in June to approve a new election map aimed at turning one of the county’s two Democratic precincts red. The court is made up of four commissioners representing precincts, as well as a county judge elected by voters across the county…