Redistricting: 'Purposeful Discrimination'

The Republican congressional redistricting plan continues its march through the special session, trampling Travis County along the way. Senate Bill 4 easily passed the House Wednes­day with a few amendments, but nothing substantially affecting Travis, which will be split among five districts – possibly threatening Austin Democrat Lloyd Doggett's tenure in Washington, D.C., and providing no districts in which Travis residents constitute a majority of the population. In debate on Tuesday, Austin Rep. Dawnna Dukes and other Dems offered alternative maps that would largely keep Austin whole, but they were swatted down like so many flies. "They have purposefully gone so far in their attempts to eliminate one person," Dukes said, referring to Doggett, "that they have eliminated the voice of 688,000 people in Travis County" – perhaps a reference to the ideal district size of 698,488 people. Democrats warned that the map will simply end up in court for violating minority rights under the Voting Rights Act. Dukes said SB 4 is "purposeful discrimination," and that public hearings on the map simply went "in one ear and out the other" for Republicans. "You could erect a sign at the ballot box that says 'blacks need not vote,' and it wouldn't be as effective at eliminating their ability to meaningfully participate as this map," Dukes said. If minor differences between the House and Senate versions can be worked out, it will head to the governor's desk.