GALVESTON, Texas (Aug. 10, 2026) — A federal judge has denied Galveston County’s attempt to dismiss a lawsuit challenging its 2021 precinct map, allowing voters’ claim that it unconstitutionally discriminates against Black and Latino Galveston residents to move forward.
Galveston County suggested the case was moot after passing a new map on June 29, 2026, that reproduced similar targeting and silencing of voters found in the 2021 map of Commissioners Court precincts. This redraw came months after the county’s primary elections, a move even defendants could not say had ever happened before.
The decision follows a hearing on July 28 where both plaintiffs and defendants addressed whether the U.S. Supreme Court’s Callais decision, followed by the unexpected map redraw by the Commissioners, would bring an end to the case. Plaintiffs, local advocacy groups, and individual Black and Latino voters filed a brief ahead of the hearing arguing that dismissing their claims would violate their constitutional rights to challenge the 2021 map, the 2026 map, or any future maps repeating the same issues.
U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey Brown signed the order Aug. 7, 2026, allowing the plaintiffs’ case to continue, finding that their remaining claims are not moot. He found that despite the County’s voluntary action, it remained unclear whether the wrongful behavior would recur.
“The defendants did not have to wait until between the primary and general elections this cycle to change the map,” Judge Brown wrote in the order. “And nothing in the Supreme Court’s intervening redistricting opinions requires the Commissioners Court to adopt a new map in the middle of this election cycle. … Even with the presumption of good faith in their favor, the defendants’ timing is highly suspicious.”
“We applaud this decision,” said Adrianne Spoto, Counsel for Voting Rights at Southern Coalition for Social Justice (SCSJ). “Lawmakers cannot escape judicial review by simply adjusting their maps every couple years while continuing to silence voters of color. We continue to push for a ruling that the County has intentionally discriminated against Galveston’s Black and Latino residents.”
“This decision is a step in the right direction towards ensuring the fairness of Galveston County votes,” said Sarah Xiyi Chen, Voting Rights Senior Supervising Attorney at Texas Civil Rights Project (TCRP). “While lawmakers continue attempting to silence Black and Latino voters, the Texas Civil Rights Project stands with Galveston’s impacted community members.”
SCSJ, TCRP, and Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP filed the original lawsuit on the plaintiffs’ behalf in April 2022. The current case centers on claims of racial gerrymandering and intentional discrimination in violation of the 14th and 15th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
###
Southern Coalition for Social Justice came together in 2007 to give Black, Brown, and low-income people better resources in the fight for justice across the South. We are lawyers, social scientists, and communications professionals working to dismantle racism and oppression in the criminal legal system, in our environment, and at the ballot box. Learn more at southerncoalition.org and follow our work on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn.
The Texas Civil Rights Project is boldly serving the movement for equality and justice in and out of the courts. We use our tools of litigation and legal advocacy to protect and advance the civil rights of everyone in Texas, and we partner with communities across the state to serve the rising movement for social justice. We undertake our work with a vision of a Texas in which all communities can thrive with dignity, justice and without fear.