AUSTIN, Texas – The Texas Legislature has failed. So have the state's courts. Now the future of the state's 32 congressional districts lies in the hands of a federal court.
Opening statements were set to begin Monday in a trial that will decide the political landscape of Texas, a decision that could affect the composition of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Minority advocates say they want to not only seek districts favorable to electing minorities, but protect black and Hispanic votes from being diluted or canceled out by unfair numbers of white votes.
Of Texas' 20.9 million people, 6.7 million are Hispanic and 2.4 million are black, according to the 2000 census. The Legislature was to use the census data to draw district maps, but lawmakers failed to come up with a plan.
On Friday, the Texas Supreme Court threw out a state judge's congressional map favored by Democrats. That meant a three-judge panel -- federal Circuit Court Judge Patrick Higginbotham and federal District Judges T. John Ward and John Hannah -- will work from a blank slate.
They will draw the state's 32 congressional districts, two more than the 30 -- 17 Democratic, 13 Republican -- Texas currently has.
Attorney General John Cornyn, representing Republican Gov. Rick Perry and others, said he wants "to move forward in federal court to secure a fair congressional redistricting plan for all Texans."
To Republicans, that means blocking Democrats from seeking the favorable districts Texas House Speaker Pete Laney and others desire.
Texas Democratic Party chairwoman Molly Beth Malcolm said she trusts the federal judges will develop a fair plan, which her party envisions as one plugging the GOP growth Republicans say is rightly theirs.
Both sides say they can get what they want without violating the federal Voting Rights Act protecting minorities.
Morris Overstreet and other minority advocates say they are fighting for more than how district lines will be drawn on a map. They want a louder minority voice on issues like education, health care and economic development.
"This event will decide who you send there to Washington, to Congress, to make the decisions," said Overstreet, a former judge and president of the Coalition of Black Democrats.
Nina Perales, an attorney with the nonprofit Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, will argue not for Democrats or Republicans, she said, but for "Latino voting rights."
"Latinos are such a large percentage of the state. One-third of the state is Latino, and without adequate numbers they will not be able to elect their candidate of choice," Perales said.
Meanwhile, the judges face a battle of their own: a race against the clock. It's unclear if new districts will be in place in time for candidates to file for those seats before the Jan. 2, 2002, filing deadline.
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox