Releases

As the Dallas City Council begins the formal process of redistricting, it is inviting citizens to electronically submit their own plans by using map-drawing software provided by the city. Although it will be "fascinating to see how the districts are drawn by someone other than a self-interested politician concerned primarily with protecting their political future," expect the vast majority of the plans to be vulnerable to legal challenges under the Voting Rights Act, according to political law attorney Chris Gober of Gober Hilgers PLLC. "Compliance with this act is generally very difficult in an area as diverse as Dallas, even for those who understand the VRA," he says. "For the average citizen, it may be next to impossible. The drawing of majority minority districts is often a source of dispute within the same political party - and not just a conventional Republican versus Democrat issue - and the fact that the Council has devoted just one paragraph to explaining majority/minority districts really understates the complexity of the process." For more information, contact Rhonda Reddick at 800-559-4534 or rhonda@androvett.com.