Groups suing over Tarrant redistricting want old map used for 2026 elections
Two organizations suing Tarrant County over redistricting asked a judge Wednesday to suspend the map they call “racially discriminatory” before the March 3, 2026, primary.
The map, redrawn in June, is likely to help Republican state Rep. Tony Tinderholt of Arlington win the Precinct 2 seat held by Democrat Alisa Simmons.
This lawsuit is one of two against the county, the Commissioners Court and County Judge Tim O’Hare. It was filed in the Tarrant County District Court by the Texas Civil Rights Project on behalf of the League of Women Voters of Tarrant County and League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) Fort Worth Council.
If the injunction is granted, the old map would be used in the 2026 election, when Simmons, O’Hare and Precinct 4 Commissioner Manny Ramirez are up for reelection.
When the new map was approved, Republicans Ramirez and O’Hare supported the change that would nearly guarantee another Republican on the court. Simmons has been an outspoken critic of the Tarrant County redistricting and the Texas redistricting saying it’s a “racial gerrymander, plain and simple.”
Both lawsuits seek to throw out the current map and go back to the one that had been in place since 2011. This complaint claims the mid-decade redistricting illegally reduced the voting power of Black and Latino residents.
“The Tarrant County Commissioners Court’s unlawful and racially discriminatory precinct map was adopted through a secretive and unprecedented process,” said Karla Maradiaga, Voting Rights Attorney with the Texas Civil Rights Project. “Using this new map would strip Tarrant County residents of their rights under the Texas Constitution and Texas law and cause irreparable harm to the community.”
A hearing on the injunction motion is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 25, at the Tarrant County District Courthouse.
This story was originally published September 12, 2025 at 1:51 PM.