A sure signal that State Republican leaders had no interest in a fair or legal redistricting process was the appointment of Senator Kel Seliger as Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Redistricting. In 2011, Seliger was one of the key players in a GOP redistricting process so overtly hostile to minority voters that a three-judge Federal District Court ruled that he and other State leaders intentionally and illegally discriminated against Texas minority citizens.
Once that ruling was made, the issue was not just about the boundaries in the maps. The process itself became a major issue. Moreover, it has gone beyond the pre-clearance provisions in Section 5 of the US Voting Rights Act. Intentional discrimination is a violation of not only Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, but also Section 2 and the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution. So, even if the US Supreme Court strikes down Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, as Texas Republicans have asked the Court to do, Texas State leaders must still answer to their violations of Section 2 and the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution.
Kel Seliger Embodies Intentional Discrimination
As Chair of the Redistricting Committee since 2011, Kel Seliger has run a virtual clinic on how to be disrespectful and dismissive of colleagues who represent minority districts and how to show contempt for basic civil rights and voting rights.
As a witness during the redistricting trial, Seliger’s was an oafish embarrassment. He gave testimony that conflicted with that of staff members who followed his direct his orders. He was so ignorant of the basic racial make-up of his own Senate district that he had to guess at the number of percentage of African Americans and Hispanics he represents – and guessed way wrong.
Attorney J. Gerald Hebert: What percentage of minorities are in your district, do you know that?
Kel Seliger: I don’t.
Hebert: You don’t know what the percentage of Latinos are in your district?
Seliger: No. I think it’s 30 to 40 percent.
Hebert: What percentage of blacks are in your district?
Seliger: I don’t, I think it’s somewhere between 12 and 20.
Hebert: Twenty percent, 12 to 20 percent?
Seliger: Yes, sir.
Hebert: Would you be surprised to learn that it’s only 5 percent, Senator?
Seliger: Yes, I would be a little surprised.
Hebert: Well, that’s what the exhibit shows and I’ll get that number for you.
Judge Collyer: So your testimony would be on your own understanding of the population of your district that it has a majority of minorities, blacks and Hispanic? Were those the numbers you just gave?
Seliger: Incorrectly, yeah, I thought it could possibly be.
Judge Collyer: Where are you from?
Seliger: I’m from Amarillo.
Judge Collyer: Thank you.
Source: DC Court Testimony
How bad were Seliger and other Republican State leaders? The Federal Court who reviewed their work said, “The parties have provided more evidence of discriminatory intent than we have space, or need, to address here.”
However, the Court did address some clear evidence of discrimination. It is damning, and it can be seen here.
Sham Hearings Make Matters Worse
In a transparent attempt to pretend to listen to the public, Seliger and State leaders have conducted a haphazard and last minute series of public hearings on redistricting. Most witnesses in attendance have opposed to the GOP-favored plans.
In this discriminatory Seliger/Texas GOP redistricting process, though, the public doesn’t count.
Seliger rammed the maps through the committee without any changes, and they will pass on the Senate floor the same way. Amendments offered by Members representing minority districts will be shot down one-by-one.
