As President Barack Obama and Democrats fight to take control of the U.S. House of Representatives in 2012, legal battles are erupting in states where Republicans are tilting voting maps in their favor. In states such as Texas and North Carolina, Republicans who control legislatures are redrawing the boundaries of voting districts to tighten their grip on seats in Congress and are trying to minimize the chance that Democrats could steal them away. Obama's Justice Department or federal courts will have to approve some of the maps under a 1965 civil rights-era law. Democrats and some minority groups already have filed lawsuits arguing the redistricting maps unfairly marginalize them. The stakes are huge with tax and spending policies atop the agenda. When Democrats last controlled Congress and the White House, healthcare and financial regulation reforms passed. -- SPA
