Thursday, September 5, 1996

Supreme Court denies Texas redistricting appeal

By MICHELLE MITTELSTADT
Associated Press

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court refused Wednesday to block a federal judicial panel's ruling ordering new elections in 13 of Texas' 30 congressional districts this fall.

The justices, without comment, denied requests by Texas House Speaker Pete Laney and six Democratic House members to block the panel's order and allow elections to proceed under old boundaries in the 13 districts.

The affected districts, in the Houston and Dallas areas, were redrawn by the judicial panel after the Supreme Court in June declared three of the districts unconstitutional because the lines were drawn to favor minority candidates. The judges also redesigned 10 neighboring districts.

Laney and other Democrats last week had asked the Supreme Court to stay the judges' order in a last-ditch effort to allow elections to proceed under the old boundaries.

The Supreme Court's action, which would seem to be the final word in the long-running redistricting skirmish over this year's congressional elections, changes the election landscape in the affected districts.

Under the plan set forward by a three-judge federal panel in Houston last month, an open primary will be held on Nov. 5 in the 13 districts, with runoffs scheduled for Dec. 10 in districts where no one emerges with at least 51 percent of the vote.

The judges' decision throwing out the spring primary and runoff election results in the 13 districts was roundly denounced by Democratic officials, some of whom expressed disappointment Wednesday at the high court's ruling.

"We're disappointed, but not terribly surprised," said Keith Ellison, the attorney who filed the appeal on the behalf of the House members. "It's extremely difficult to get extraordinary relief from the Supreme Court and especially so when the court is not in session."

Added Ellison: "It's the end of the line on this appeal."

While the redrawn lines make his district slightly more Democratic, Rep. Martin Frost of Dallas deplored the Supreme Court's ruling. "From the standpoint of the voters, it is unfortunate - it could result in lower turnout at the elections in December," the Democrat said.

Republicans found reason to cheer the justices' decision.

"The Supreme Court has wisely granted the citizens of Texas the right to vote in constitutional congressional districts for the first time this decade," said Ed Blum of Houston, a plaintiff in the case.

Paul Hurd, the attorney for Blum and five other Republican voters who challenged the redistricting boundaries, said of Wednesday's decision: "The people are going to be better for it."

But Hurd and others noted the redistricting battle is far from over.

The boundaries drawn by the lower court are to be used for this year only. The Texas Legislature is expected to take up the contentious redistricting issue when it meets in January, settling on a redistricting map for the remainder of the decade.

Karen Hughes, spokeswoman for Republican Gov. George W. Bush, said that although the ruling will cause some election upheaval, the governor "will now work with the secretary of state to make sure the elections are as smooth as they can be."

The Democratic House incumbents argued that voter confusion and lowered turnout would result from new boundary lines and the possibility of a December runoff.

But the judicial panel, consisting of Judge Edith Jones of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and U.S. District Judges Melinda Harmon and David Hittner, repeatedly contended that its election plan would not be unduly disruptive.

The Democratic incumbents - Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee, Gene Green and Ken Bentsen of Houston; and Eddie Bernice Johnson, John Bryant and Frost - also argued that the election process had proceeded too far to redesign districts. Also, they said redistricting should be decided by the Texas Legislature when it convenes in January.

Last month, the Supreme Court refused to order North Carolina congressional districts to be redrawn this year, letting stand a lower court ruling that said the campaigns were too far along to redraw the lines now. North Carolina held its primaries in May, two months after Texas.

The Texas case is the result of a 1994 suit by six Republican voters who claimed that congressional lines were racially gerrymandered. The plaintiffs argued that it would be improper for this year's elections to proceed under unconstitutional lines.

The cases are Bentsen vs. Vera, A-140; Laney vs. Vera, A-159; and Lawson vs. Vera, A-144.