A political analyst and former leader of the Texas Republican Party is disappointed that unelected judges have the ultimate say over the state's redistricting process.
The U.S. District Court in Washington says it found evidence of discrimination in Texas voting maps drawn by the state's Republican-controlled legislature. In a lengthy opinion, the court has ruled that state prosecutors failed to prove that lawmakers did not draw congressional and state Senate district maps "without discriminatory purposes."
Tom Pauken served on Ronald Reagan's White House staff and later became chairman of the Republican Party of Texas. He thinks the court has too much power over the state.
"It's really a sad day when you've got the state of Texas and a few other states singled out to fall under this Voting Rights Act, which gives arbitrary power to the Department of Justice bureaucrats and, in this case, the Obama officials," he tells OneNewsNow.
This ruling means The Lone Star State will have to redistrict once again in the next legislative session.
"I do believe that there is a possibility we'll be able to hold our elections under what's called an interim map in Texas," he indicates. "And so potentially it won't have any impact on the November elections."
Meanwhile, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott (R) has vowed to appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. But Pauken is not confident the high court will rule the right way, even if it decides to take the case.