(Reuters) -Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Friday signed into law a bill to redraw the state’s congressional maps at the behest of President Donald Trump in an effort to flip five U.S. House seats held by Democrats to Republicans.
The ratification came after the state’s legislature passed the measure last week amid a nationwide redistricting battle.
“Texas is now more red in the United States Congress,” Abbott said in a video post on social media, after signing the bill with a marker.
Republicans have acknowledged they believe winning more congressional seats in Texas will help the party maintain its slim majority in the U.S. House of Representatives in next year’s midterm elections. More states controlled by Republicans are considering similar action.
California and other states where Democrats hold power vow to counter such moves. The California legislature approved a redistricting plan last week aimed at giving Democrats five more congressional seats.
The California plan must be approved by voters in November. The Texas plan does not need voter approval, but it has been challenged in court.
The Texas bill was delayed for two weeks after more than 50 Democratic state House members staged a walkout that denied Republicans the legislative quorum needed.
Democrats argued that the new Texas map violates federal law by diluting Hispanic and Black voting power and discriminating on the basis of race.
Texas Republicans who sponsored the bill said they redrew maps based on voting history, not race.
Most Americans believe redrawing congressional lines for the sake of maximizing political gain, known as gerrymandering, is bad for democracy, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found this week.
(Reporting By Andrew Hay; editing by Diane Craft)
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