Galveston County Attorney Calls Challenge to Election Maps a ‘Desperate Ploy’

Galveston County voters have filed an emergency petition for a writ of mandamus asking the Texas Supreme Court to block the county from implementing new precinct maps for the November election.

In June, the Galveston County Commissioners Court adopted a 2026 map that established new precinct boundaries for county commissioners, justices of the peace, and constables.

Dereck Rose, a Galveston County resident who was elected as the County’s Precinct 3 constable in 2024, and registered voters Wilma Green and Diane Merchant, filed the emergency petition. They argue that the commissioners provided only a justification based on a “desire” to divide the boundaries and “determined that the interests of the people of the county are best served by changing the existing Commissioners, Constables, and Justices of the Peace Precinct Boundaries.”

The petitioners also argue that the 2026 map violates equal protection by denying voters the opportunity to vote in, or declare their candidacy for, the primary election for offices that will be on the November ballot, as well as that the map violates the Texas Constitution and Texas Election Code.

According to Campaign Legal Center and UCLA Voting Rights Project, which represent the petitioners, the groups argued in federal court that Galveston County’s previous map “intentionally discriminated against Black and Latino voters.” They say the 2026 one is similar to the 2021 map they challenged.

The latest legal challenge follows the 2022 Pettaway lawsuit, which challenged Galveston County’s 2021 redistricting map and sought to redraw four county commissioners’ precincts.

U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey Brown, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, ruled in 2023 that the 2021 map violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act by diluting the voting power of Black and Latino Voters. 

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals later reversed that ruling in 2024, holding that Section 2 does not authorize separate minority groups to combine their populations for a vote-dilution claim. The 5th Circuit remanded the case to the district court for further consideration of the plaintiffs’ constitutional claims, including their claims of intentional discrimination and racial gerrymandering.

One of the claims remanded to the district was based on the 15th Amendment, and alleges intentional discrimination.

In 2026, the Commissioners Court adopted a new map combining the precinct boundaries for county commissioners, justices of the peace, and constables.

Joseph Nixon, an attorney representing Galveston County, told The Daily Signal that the new map effectively mooted the remaining claims in the Petteway case.

Nixon said the petitioners’ claims that the county lacked authority to redraw its precinct boundaries and that the map was racially motivated are incorrect.

“There’s no evidence to support that horrible allegation,” Nixon said. “The County did it for partisan reasons and said so.”

Nixon also said the plaintiffs in the federal case argued and presented evidence that “race and politics were inextricably intertwined,” meaning there was no distinction between racial voting patterns and partisan voting patterns.

“This is a last-ditch effort to try to keep from losing in federal court,” Nixon told the Daily Signal. “This is a desperate ploy.”

The Texas Supreme Court has not yet ruled on the emergency petition. Galveston County’s response is due Monday, Aug. 10.