March 11 (UPI) -- Federal judges invalidated the drawing of three congressional districts in Texas on Friday night, ruling Republicans gerrymandered them to hold down the influence of the state's booming Hispanic population.
The long-awaited ruling does not instruct the state on how to remedy the problem, but it does state three districts were drawn with the intent of "packing" Hispanic voters into their own heavily Democratic districts, thereby making other districts easier for Republicans to win. The majority ruled the districts, drawn in 2011, violated both the 14th Amendment and the federal Voting Rights Act.