$3.9M Spent Defending GOP-drawn Election Maps

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The legal fight spearheaded by Attorney General Greg Abbott to defend redistricting maps in federal court has cost Texas $3.9 million so far, with more to come.

That cost and the ongoing litigation have been criticized by Democrats as wasteful. But top Texas Republicans blame the groups that sued Texas three years ago shortly after the Legislature enacted the maps.

In the current case, the U.S. Department of Justice and minority civil-rights groups are fighting against defunct maps passed in 2011 as well as ones passed in 2013 that almost mirror the interim maps used in the 2012 elections.

The San Antonio Express-News reports (http://bit.ly/1pKxQp6 ) that Abbott's office released the figure in response to a Public Information Act request.

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