SHC Chairman Rodríguez: Court rightly dismisses attempt to force unconstitutional Texas Senate district boundaries on state residents

Senator José Rodríguez, chairman of the Senate Hispanic Caucus, said Thursday that the dismissal by the Federal Western District Court of Texas the plaintiff’s claims in Evenwell v. Perry brings to an end an argument that was frivolous from the outset.

Brought by the right wing organization, Project for Fair Representation, the lawsuit attempted to force the Texas Legislature to redraw the Texas Senate District boundaries based on the voting electorate rather than total population numbers. The lawsuit was dismissed yesterday (Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2014).

“Equalizing population among districts whether it be Congressional, State legislative Districts, or local jurisdictions should always be done by total population as required by the 14th amendment of the U.S. Constitution,” Rodríguez said. “As legislators we represent all the people in our districts whether they be children, immigrants, in jail or just unwilling  to vote. We hope the Court’s dismissal will end the matter.”

The federal court dismissed — or “threw out” — the case on the grounds that it did not present a valid legal claim and that there were no legitimate grounds for the lawsuit. This case is not related to current challenges to the State House and Congressional maps in violation of the Federal Voting Rights Act and other claims of discrimination brought by minority voters throughout the state.

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José Rodríguez represents Texas Senate District 29, which includes the counties of El Paso, Hudspeth, Culberson, Jeff Davis, and Presidio. He represents both urban and rural constituencies, and more than 350 miles of the Texas-Mexico border. Senator Rodríguez currently serves as the Chairman of the Senate Hispanic Caucus, Vice Chairman of the Senate Jurisprudence Committee, and a member of the Senate Committees on Criminal Justice, Veteran Affairs and Military Installations, and Government Organization. 

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