Tarrant County, Tim O’Hare move to dismiss redistricting lawsuit
Lawyers for Tarrant County and County Judge Tim O’Hare on Friday filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit alleging a county precinct redistricting plan approved in June was a racial gerrymander.
A group of Tarrant County residents filed the lawsuit the day after county commissioners voted along party lines to approve it. They argued the new precinct map is racially discriminatory and unlawfully dilutes their voting power.
Redistricting experts told the Star-Telegram before the vote that the proposed maps showed the “telltale signs of racial gerrymandering.”
Lawyers for the county argue the plaintiffs did not “disentangle race” from the stated partisan motives behind the redistricting.
“A plaintiff challenging a new map cannot simply claim race motivated lawmakers instead of partisan aims when the two are highly correlated,” the motion states.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs declined to comment.
In their complaint, the plaintiffs alleged that their voting power was diluted by the map because of a staggered election cycle. They were set to vote in 2026, but after the new map changed what precinct they live in, they will not be able to vote on a county commissioner until 2028, constituting a six-year gap since they last voted for the office.
Lawyers for the county cite case law to say that this doesn’t violate the plaintiffs’ constitutional rights.
“While Plaintiffs have the right to vote in their precinct’s elections, this right is governed by ‘where’ not ‘when,’” the motion states. “Plaintiffs may vote in the election of the precinct in which they reside on the date that election is held.”
The motion also says the former majority-minority precincts that were the most significantly altered were not protected under the Voting Rights Act (VRA) and the Constitution.
“To enact a plan in 2025 with the explicit purpose to protect a racial coalition district and to immunize minority candidates from the rough and tumble of politics in 2025 would brazenly violate the VRA and the Fifteenth Amendment,” the motion states.
A coalition district is one in which multiple racial minorities combine to make a majority in the district.
The plaintiffs’ arguments “do not satisfy elements to establish racial intent,” the motion states. “Plaintiffs seek to maintain 2 Democrat seats on the Tarrant County Commissioners Court and the Defendants voted to create a 4 to 1 Republican majority.”
Representatives of the county and O’Hare did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
This story was originally published August 1, 2025 at 4:40 PM.
