An election integrity group has filed to dismiss a lawsuit against Tarrant County’s redistricting.
The conservative legal group Public Interest Legal Foundation is filing to dismiss a lawsuit against Tarrant County’s redistricting efforts, The Dallas Express has learned. PILF proposed new district lines, and the county adopted them in June – openly aiming to boost Republican power among county commissioners.
Plaintiffs sued in Jackson v. Tarrant County, claiming racial discrimination. But PILF, representing the defendants, filed to dismiss the suit on August 1, according to a motion obtained by The Dallas Express. They argue plaintiffs are using “racially-saturated innuendo, conclusory allegations, and worn-out tropes” to claim racial motives.
Claiming Racial Gerrymandering
Plaintiffs Winnie Jackson, Jarrett Jackson, Celina Vasquez, Duane Braxton, and Nadia Bhular sued in June. Since then, more plaintiffs have apparently joined. They target defendants Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare, Tarrant County, and the Tarrant County Commissioners Court. The county contracted with PILF in July for $250,000 for its legal defense.
When they initially sued, plaintiffs claimed the final map – drawn by PILF – was “racially discriminatory.” They claimed it “gerrymanders” the county to eliminate a minority-dominated precinct.
“The resulting map – in a county in which the majority of residents are non-Anglo – has three Anglo-majority precincts and one majority-minority precinct,” they wrote.
They also claimed the redistricting “disenfranchises” more than 150,000 voters in the county who could have voted for a commissioner in 2026, but will now have to wait until 2028 since their district has changed.
‘Failure To Disentangle Race And Politics’
But defendants argued in the motion to dismiss that plaintiffs are trying to give the courts legislative powers over redistricting.
They said “allegations of racial intent” and “wildly out of context or irrelevant statements” cannot shift these powers. And under America’s federalist form of government, the county “enjoys a strong presumption of legislative good faith.”
“Tarrant County adopted a redistricting plan that from conception to enactment was an unambiguous, explicit and unabashed effort to increase Republican power and decrease Democratic power,” defendants argued.
They said plaintiff’s “last remaining avenue of attack” is to claim racism, instead of partisan motives, to give Republicans a four-to-one advantage on the commissioners court.
“Plaintiffs’ failure to disentangle race and politics is lethal to their claim,” the defendants added.
Fort Worth passed a resolution in May condemning the redistricting efforts, as The Dallas Express reported.
Shortly before the commissioners voted to redraw district lines, O’Hare had police remove disruptive audience members, as The Dallas Express also reported at the time. County Commissioner Alisa Simmons flipped him off and apparently tried to filibuster the vote. Redistricting ultimately passed 3-2.
The Dallas Express asked O’Hare and PILF Director of Communications Douglas Blair for comment, but they both declined.