The Voting Rights Act just got gutted. Dallas, here’s our move

By Kardal Coleman
Special to Texas Metro News
https://texasmetronews.com

You have likely seen the news. And I wanted time to reflect on what Dallas County has lost and what is at stake this November.

The U.S. Supreme Court gutted Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act — the same law Dr. King marched for, the same law John Lewis bled for, the same law that has protected Black and Brown voters in this country for 60 years.

And here in Dallas County, we know exactly what that means. We just lived it. In 2025, Texas Republicans rammed through a mid-decade redistricting scheme designed to do one thing: dilute the political power of Black and Brown communities.

It affected every member of our congressional delegation. And it cost us two of our champions in the U.S. House.

It cost us Congressman Marc Veasey — a 13-year veteran of the U.S. House and a Black congressman who has fought for North Texas families since 2013. Republican mapmakers in Austin reached into Fort Worth, carved up his political base, and erased his district. He is leaving Congress at the end of this term. Not because voters rejected him. Because a magic marker did.

And it cost us Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett’s voice in the U.S. House — one of the most effective and recognizable Democratic leaders in Washington.

Republican mapmakers redrew CD-30, moved her own home out of the district, and stretched the lines into Tarrant County to dilute her base. Rather than fight on a battlefield Republicans rigged against Dallas County voters, she’s taking the fight to a bigger stage — and we’re proud to stand with Dr. Frederick Haynes III, the faith leader stepping up to carry CD-30 forward. But make no mistake: the gerrymander is why Jasmine is leaving the House. And with the Supreme Court gutting Section 2, the kind of racial vote dilution that reshaped CD-30 is exactly what we can no longer challenge in court. The ballot box is the backstop now.

And it’s costing us in CD-33 too — in a way Republicans designed on purpose. The new map collapsed Democratic voters into so few districts that two of our strongest champions, Congresswoman Julie Johnson and former Congressman Colin Allred, are now running against each other for the same seat. Think about that. Two proven Democratic leaders, forced into a bruising and expensive primary, when both of them should be in Congress fighting for us. That’s not an accident. That’s the gerrymander working exactly as Republicans drew it — draining our resources, dividing our base, and guaranteeing that no matter who wins, Dallas County loses a champion.

And here is the bigger truth they don’t want you to see:
Dallas County is a Democratic county. We voted blue. We are blue. Our neighbors, our churches, our schools, our small businesses, our values — Democratic. And yet under this rigged new map, Dallas County voters are now split across six congressional districts: CD-5, CD-6, CD-24, CD-30, CD-32, and CD-33 — and only two of those seats are positioned to send a Democrat to Washington. Think about that. A Democratic county of 2.6 million people, sliced and stitched into Republican-leaning districts that stretch deep into East Texas exurbs and rural counties so that our votes get drowned out by their voters. That’s not representation. That’s erasure by design.

We don’t have to accept it. We will defend CD-30 and CD-33, and take back CD-5, CD-6, CD-24, and CD-32 — if we organize like our democracy depends on it. Because it does.

That’s not a slogan. That’s a plan. And it costs money and people to execute.

But here’s what they don’t understand about Dallas County: we don’t wait for permission to fight back.

When the Court won’t protect our vote, we protect it. When they rig the map, we out-organize them precinct by precinct. When they erase our representation with a pen, we rebuild it at the ballot box. When they bet that we’ll stay home, we show up in numbers they can’t ignore.

Here’s the three-step plan to fight back — starting today:
῿ STEP 1: Chip in to our Fight Back Voter Protection Fund. Every dollar goes directly to defending Dallas County voters — at the polls, at the ballot box, and in court when we have to sue. $25, $50, $100, whatever you can give. It all goes to work immediately.

￿ STEP 2: Become a Sustaining Donor. A one-time gift fights today’s battle. A monthly gift wins the war. Sustaining donors are the backbone of this party — your recurring contribution lets us hire organizers, train poll watchers, and plan a full-county strategy months before the GOP knows what hit them. Even $10 a month makes you a force multiplier.

✊ STEP 3: Mobilize. Step Up as a Precinct Chair, Election Worker, or Volunteer. This is how we win the precincts they wrote us off in. We need neighbors talking to neighbors in every corner of Dallas County — every district, every precinct. Money matters. People win elections.

They drew the lines hoping we would stay home. They erased two of our members of Congress and split our county six ways hoping we’d give up.

Let’s show them what Dallas does instead.

In the fight,
Kardal Coleman Chair Dallas County Democratic Party
P.S. Six congressional districts now carve up Dallas County. Only two are positioned to send Democrats to Washington. That’s not the county we live in — that’s the county Republicans drew on a map. Congressman Veasey’s seat is gone, and the gerrymander pushed Congresswoman Crockett out of the House. With Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act gutted, the courts can’t save us — only Dallas County voters can. Donate now, become a sustaining donor, or sign up to volunteer. Don’t wait.