Home / Dallas News / Federal appeals court rejects claim of anti-white bias in Dallas County district map

Federal appeals court rejects claim of anti-white bias in Dallas County district map

A federal appeals court has found that a lower court made the right decision in tossing a lawsuit that accused Dallas County commissioners of discriminating against white voters.

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals said in its opinion, affirming the lower court ruling, that the four white voters who brought the lawsuit failed to provide evidence that the county’s 2011 redistricting plan amounted to “racial gerrymandering” and vote dilution. The appeals court issued its opinion on Friday.

A conservative group brought the 2015 lawsuit on behalf of the white voters. The lawsuit claimed that the redistricting map diluted the voting strength of white residents, who overwhelmingly vote for Republicans. The Commissioners Court has one Republican. The lawsuit said whites make up 48% of Dallas County voters but essentially elect 25% (one commissioner) on the court.

Lawyers for the county argued that the precinct map was not discriminatory and that it reflected the area’s changing demographics.

In his 2018 order dismissing the lawsuit, U.S. District Judge Sidney Fitzwater wrote that the plaintiffs failed to show any evidence at trial that the Commissioners Court could have created two districts for Anglo Republicans, given the political makeup of the county’s voting-age population.

Republicans dominated Dallas County politics until 2006. Democrats took control of the Commissioners Court in 2010 and passed a new redistricting map the following year that led to the party controlling four of the five seats on the court. The four commissioners are elected by district, while the county judge is elected countywide.

Check Also

Researchers in Fort Worth are studying female ballet dancer health

Ballet is a performance art that takes dedication, and sometimes sacrifice, to get to the …