RICK PERRY, GOVERNOR OF TEXAS, ET AL., Appellants, v. SHANNON PEREZ ET AL. U.S. Supreme Court. Case No. 11-713. RICK PERRY, GOVERNOR OF TEXAS, ET AL., Appellants, v. WENDY DAVIS ET AL. Case No. 11-714. RICK PERRY, GOVERNOR OF TEXAS, ET AL., Appellants, v. SHANNON PEREZ ET AL. Case No. 11-715. January 20, 2012. Appeal from the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas.
(PER CURIAM.) The 2010 census showed an enormous increase in Texas’ population, with over four million new residents. That growth required the State to redraw its electoral districts for the United States Congress, the State Senate, and the State House of Representatives, in order to comply with the Constitution’s one-person, one-vote rule. See Georgia v. Ashcroft, 539 U.S. 461,488, n. 2 (2003) [16 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. S448a]. The State also had to create new districts for the four additional congressional seats it received.
Texas is a “covered jurisdiction” under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. See 79 Stat. 439, 42 U.S.C. §1973c(a); 28 CFR pt. 51, App. (2011). Section 5 suspends all changes to a covered jurisdiction’s election procedures, including district lines, until those changes are submitted to and approved by a three-judge United States District Court for the District of Columbia, or the Attorney General. See Northwest Austin Municipal Util. Dist. No. One v. Holder, 557 U.S. 193, 198 (2009) [21 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. S965a]. This process, known as preclearance, requires the covered jurisdiction to demonstrate that its proposed change “neither has the purpose nor will have the effect of denying or abridging the right to vote on account of race or color.” § 1973c(a). This Court has been emphatic that a new electoral map cannot be used to conduct an election until it has been precleared. See, e.g., Clark v. Roemer, 500 U.S. 646, 652 (1991).
The day after completing its new electoral plans, Texas submitted them to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia for preclearance. The preclearance process remains ongoing. Texas was unsuccessful in its bid for summary judgment, and a trial is scheduled in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, various plaintiffs — appellees here — brought suit in Texas, claiming that the State’s newly enacted plans violate the United States Constitution and §2 of the Voting Rights Act.1 Appellees alleged, inter alia, that Texas’ enacted plans discriminate against Latinos and African-Americans and dilute their voting strength, notwithstanding the fact that Latinos and African-Americans accounted for three-quarters of Texas’ population growth since 2000. A three-judge panel of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas was convened. See 28 U.S.C. §2284. That court heard argument and held a trial with respect to the plaintiffs’ claims, but withheld judgment pending resolution of the preclearance process in the D.C. court. Cf. Branch v. Smith, 538 U.S. 254, 283-285 (2003) [16 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. S183a] (KENNEDY, J., concurring).
As Texas’ 2012 primaries approached, it became increasingly likely that the State’s newly enacted plans would not receive preclearance in time for the 2012 elections. And the State’s old district lines could not be used, because population growth had rendered them inconsistent with the Constitution’s one-person, one-vote requirement. It thus fell to the District Court in Texas to devise interim plans for the State’s 2012 primaries and elections. See Connor v. Finch, 431 U.S. 407, 414-415 (1977). After receiving proposals from the parties and holding extensive hearings, that court issued its interim plans. The court unanimously agreed on an interim State Senate plan, but Judge Smith dissented with respect to the congressional and State House plans. Texas asked this Court to stay the interim plans pending an appeal, arguing that they were unnecessarily inconsistent with the State’s enacted plans. This Court granted the stay and noted probable jurisdiction. 565 U.S. __ (2011).
