Tarrant County Democrats say a potential redistricting effort, led by Republican County Judge Tim O鈥橦are, is designed to dilute voters' power 鈥� while Republicans say it's necessary to make the map fairer.
Tarrant County is split up into four precincts, each one represented by a county commissioner. Republican County Judge Tim O'Hare represents the entire county, and as a whole, the five make up the Commissioners Court.
At Wednesday鈥檚 Commissioners Court meeting, O鈥橦are is asking for his colleagues to hire a conservative law firm called the The firm would give legal advice about redrawing precincts and appear before commissioners 鈥渢o discuss the potential adoption of a new map,鈥� according to the meeting agenda.
It鈥檚 unclear what any new precinct maps would look like, and O鈥橦are did not respond to a request for comment. But the Tarrant County GOP has identified redistricting as a priority. In a recent newsletter, the party encouraged local Republicans to show up on Wednesday and voice support for the effort.
鈥淭he Commissioner's Court is currently working on a redistricting proposal that would fix this issue to make our commissioner's court more fair and representative of our county's voters,鈥� the newsletter states. 鈥淎s conservatives, we fully support this. If the Court can accomplish this, it will be historic in benefiting our county for years to come.鈥�
The newsletter said Precinct 1 was drawn to benefit Democrats. GOP Chair Bo French did not respond to a request for an interview.
Republicans hold a 3-2 majority on the Commissioners Court, with the two Democrats representing Precinct 1 in southwest Tarrant County and Precinct 2 in southeast Tarrant county.
Local Democrats came out strongly against the redistricting idea.
Precinct 2 Commissioner Alisa Simmons called hiring the firm 鈥渢he first step in an extremist effort to redraw Commissioner precinct boundaries mid-decade鈥攚ithout justification and with the clear intent to discriminate against Black, Hispanic, and other minority voters in Tarrant County.鈥�
鈥淭his blatant attempt at racial gerrymandering would dilute the voting power of people of color in Precincts 1 and 2, threatening to eliminate one鈥攊f not two鈥攄istricts where minority voters have consistently elected candidates of their choice,鈥� Simmons said in a statement.
The Tarrant County Democratic Party accused O鈥橦are of trying to draw Simmons out of her seat. She鈥檚 up for reelection next year, alongside O'Hare and Republican Commissioner Manny Ramirez.
"Recognizing he cannot defeat her fairly at the ballot box, Judge O鈥橦are is now attempting to use increase and misuse taxpayer dollars to push through a plan that would diminish voter power and rig the system in his favor,鈥� the party said in .
Simmons did not respond to a request for comment for this story. Republican commissioner Matt Krause also did not respond to a request for comment.
Precinct 1 Commissioner Roderick Miles Jr., a Democrat, told 四虎影院 the redistricting effort is 鈥渄eeply concerning.鈥�
"I think it's a dangerous precedent to set when you do redistrict outside of the 10-year block that we've typically and normally done it," he said.
Usually, the county considers redistricting after the U.S. Census every decade, Miles said. The Tarrant County Commissioners Court after the 2020 Census. The county determined the precincts were in balance,
Republican Commissioner Manny Ramirez鈥檚 office declined an interview request. In , Ramirez said he supported a redistricting effort that is 鈥減olitically responsible鈥� and balanced by population.
鈥淭arrant County has not redistricted Commissioners precincts for nearly 15 years and has grown by nearly half a million people in that time," he said.
Ramirez called Democrats鈥� outrage 鈥渃omical鈥� and accused them of politically redistricting Texas' two largest counties.
鈥淭here is one distinct responsibility of this job that is, in my opinion, very political and that is redistricting,鈥� Ramirez said. 鈥淐onservative policies and values continue to make Tarrant County the greatest and most successful county in the nation. I believe that I have a moral obligation to do everything legally permissible to ensure that our county continues to enjoy responsible conservative leadership.鈥�
The contract with the Public Interest Legal Foundation, if approved on Wednesday, would pay the firm up to $30,000 for its services, according to the county鈥檚 agenda.
The firm's website says it 鈥渆xists to assist states and others to aid the cause of election integrity and fight against lawlessness in American elections.鈥�
The organization鈥檚 claims about elections have in the past. In one case, the Public Interest Legal Foundation posted the names of people it alleged were immigrants unlawfully included on the voter rolls, when many of the people listed were actually U.S. citizens, .
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