Both lawsuits accusing Tarrant County of racial gerrymandering are now over.
A group of Tarrant County residents who sued over the new commissioners court precinct map withdrew their lawsuit Monday without a clear explanation.
A second lawsuit, brought by local branches of the League of Women Voters and the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), had been listed as pending as of Monday, but updated filings show it was dismissed Nov. 28.
Republican County Judge Tim O’Hare, who led the redistricting effort, announced the second case’s dismissal in a Facebook post.
“We followed the law. And Tarrant County will be the better for it,” he said.
Earlier this year, the Republican majority on the Tarrant County Commissioners Court voted to redraw the court's precincts, giving themselves an extra right-leaning seat. Critics accused them of doing that by packing Black and Hispanic voters into a single precinct, diluting their voting power.
The ruling left Alberto Govea, president of Fort Worth’s LULAC Council 4568, wondering if he can get justice in Tarrant County, he said in a statement.
“This illegal redistricting scheme is an attack on our communities' ability to vote for representatives that know and understand our needs,” Govea said. “This decision must be challenged both in the courts and streets. This is not party politics. This denies people their right to equal representation.”
In the League of Women Voters and LULAC case, the county contended the court had no jurisdiction in the case, and that redistricting had partisan motives, not racial ones.
“As such, the diminished ability to elect a Democrat is not an injury,” county attorneys wrote in a September filing.
Judge Megan Fahey agreed with the county and dismissed the case.
Attorneys with the Texas Civil Rights Project represented the local League of Women Voters and LULAC branches in the lawsuit. The county misread the law, TCRP said in a press release.
“Even as Defendant County Judge O’Hare and the Commissioners Court try to avoid accountability for their undemocratic and discriminatory map, we will never stop working to amplify the voices of Tarrant County residents and communities of color,” TCRP attorney Nina Oishi said.
The dismissal could be appealed, Republican Commissioner Matt Krause, who is also an attorney, wrote in a Facebook post Tuesday.
“Even if it is appealed, I would expect the ruling to be upheld,” he wrote. “Another very positive development and another blow to those who gaslighted hundreds throughout the redistricting process."
Three out of the five commissioners court members face an election next year: Republicans O’Hare and Manny Ramirez, and Democrat Alisa Simmons.
All three have said they plan to run. The new map made Simmons’ Precinct 2 more conservative, threatening her chances for reelection. Retiring Republican State Rep. Tony Tinderholt plans to challenge for the seat.
Simmons' longtime deputy, Gabe Rivas, has also filed to run as a Democrat.
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