Filed Date: Nov. 16, 2021
Closed Date: March 24, 2025
Clearinghouse coding complete
This case is about Texas’s redistricting plans for the Texas House (House Plan 2316), Texas Senate (Senate Plan 2168), and for the U.S. House of Representatives (Congressional Plan 2193) following the 2020 census.
On November 16, 2021, Fair Maps Texas Action Committee, a committee of seven nonprofits supporting equitable redistricting, as well as several other civil rights organizations and individual Texas voters, filed this lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. The plaintiffs sued the Governor of Texas and the Texas Secretary of State, alleging that the intent and effect of the redistricting plans were to discriminate against and dilute the voting power of Black, Latino, and Asian American and Pacific Islander voters by cracking and packing minority populations, in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, 42 U.S.C. § 1973, as well as the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Represented by the ACLU of Texas, plaintiffs sought injunctive relief ordering defendants to develop redistricting plans that do not dilute minority voting strength and attorneys’ fees. The case was assigned to U.S. District Judge David C. Guaderrama.
On November 19, 2021, the district court consolidated Fair Maps Texas Action Committee v. Abbott with several other pending challenges to Texas’s redistricting plan. The consolidated cases were assigned to a three-judge panel composed of Judges David C. Guaderrama, Jerry E. Smith, and Jeffrey V. Brown. LULAC v. Abbott was designated the lead case.
On May 23, 2022, the court issued an opinion dismissing many of the Fair Maps plaintiffs' claims. The Section 2 vote dilution claims were dismissed because plaintiffs did not sufficiently allege facts to show that the minority voters were cohesive and that the white majority overwhelmingly voted as a bloc to defeat the minority voters’ candidate of choice. The court also ruled that plaintiffs lacked standing except for claims relating to House Districts 33, 61, 66, and 89; Senate District 22; and Congressional Districts 4, 6, 9, 26, 30, and 33 because none of the plaintiffs resided in the other districts challenged in the complaint.
On March 24, 2025, the Fair Maps plaintiffs agreed to voluntarily dismiss their remaining claims in the consolidated case. The court closed Fair Maps Texas Action Committee v. Abbott and terminated them as parties in LULAC v. Abbott.
The other Plaintiffs’ claims against Defendants remain live; LULAC v. Abbott is ongoing.
Summary Authors
John McGinnis (12/31/2024)
Claire Pollard (7/7/2025)
For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/61469984/parties/fair-maps-texas-action-committee-v-abbott/
Ashton, Anthony P. (Texas)
Al-Fuhaid, Munera (Texas)
Barnes, J. Aaron (Texas)
Anderson, Jacki Lynn (Texas)
Bender, Laura Brady (Texas)
Buser-Clancy, Thomas Paul (Texas)
Chalajour, Ariana Zahara (Texas)
Danahy, Molly Elizabeth (Texas)
Gersh, Nicholas Russin (Texas)
Gladden, Richard Scott (Texas)
Golando, Martin Anthony (Texas)
Gonzalez, Joaquin Robert (Texas)
Harris, Ashley Alcantara (Texas)
Lorenzo-Giguere, Susana (Texas)
Medina, Richard Alexander (Texas)
Notzon, Robert Stephen (Texas)
Policarpio, Khrystan Nicole (Texas)
See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/61469984/fair-maps-texas-action-committee-v-abbott/
Last updated Aug. 5, 2025, 8:13 a.m.
State / Territory: Texas
Case Type(s):
Special Collection(s):
Law Firm Antiracism Alliance (LFAA) project
Key Dates
Filing Date: Nov. 16, 2021
Closing Date: March 24, 2025
Case Ongoing: No
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
A committee of seven nonprofits supporting equitable redistricting, as well as several other civil rights organizations and individual Texas voters
Plaintiff Type(s):
Non-profit NON-religious organization
Attorney Organizations:
Public Interest Lawyer: Yes
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: No
Class Action Outcome: Not sought
Defendants
Governor of the State of Texas, State
Texas Secretary of State, State
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Voting Rights Act, section 2, 52 U.S.C. § 10301 (previously 42 U.S.C. § 1973)
Constitutional Clause(s):
Available Documents:
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Defendant
Nature of Relief:
Source of Relief:
Issues
Affected Race(s):
Voting: