League of United Latin American Citizens of Fort Worth, Council 4568 v. Tarrant County

On June 3, 2025, the Tarrant County Commissioners Court — which governs the county and consists of four commissioners elected from districts that are called “voting precincts” along with the county judge, the chief executive of the county who is elected by all county voters — held a regularly scheduled meeting. At the meeting, they considered a proposal to draw new voting precinct boundaries. In a 3-2 vote, the commissioners approved the proposed voting precincts in “Map 7” to redistrict the county for the 2026 elections. 

In Tarrant County, a county with more Black and Latino residents than white residents, the plan in Map 7 proposed eliminating one of two existing majority-minority commissioner voting precincts. This act diminished the ability of communities of color to equally elect their candidates of choice and effectively disenfranchised nearly 100,000 voting age residents in Tarrant County whose commissioner was originally up for reelection in the November 2026 election. By moving them to a different voting precinct, the new plan meant that those voters would not be voting for their county commissioner until 2028. 

On August 14, 2025, LWV of Tarrant County and the League of United Latin American Citizens of Fort Worth, Council 4568 (“LULAC Council 4568”) filed a lawsuit in Texas state court against Tarrant County, the Commissioners Court, and Judge Tim O’Hare.  

The complaint alleges defendants violated various state laws and the state constitution as follows:  

1. First, the defendants violated the Texas Open Meetings Act by adopting Map 7 through a series of closed meetings with no true public discussion.
2. Second, the defendants’ redistricting violated the Texas Constitution, which dictates the process for dividing commissioners court precincts “for the convenience of the people.”
3. Third, the plaintiffs argued the map was racially discriminatory in violation of Texas state law prohibiting officials from imposing an “unreasonable burden” on someone based on their race, religion, color, sex, or national origin.
4. Fourth, the defendants engaged in intentional racial discrimination in violation of the state constitution by redistricting with the intent to discriminate against Black and Latino Tarrant County residents.
5. Lastly, the defendants temporarily disenfranchised nearly 100,000 voting age residents who were shifted from a precinct with a 2026 election into a precinct with a 2028 election in violation of the state constitution.  

The plaintiffs requested the court forbid the defendants from implementing and holding elections under the new, racially discriminatory map. They also asked the court to reinstate the previous map that contained two majority-minority districts.