SAN ANTONIO -- The legal battle over Texas’ political maps continues in federal district court.

Day 2 of the redistricting trial has broadened its attention to African-Americans as well as Asian-Americans.

The argument from groups suing the state over the 2013 interim maps is that the GOP-controlled Texas Legislature has been successful at reducing voting power of minorities because of gerrymandered maps. A key witness for lawyers representing minority groups testified Tuesday.

Texas House District 100 Rep. Eric Johns, a black Democrat from Dallas, told the three-judge panel that in 2013, when lawmakers were redrawing maps under a court order, there was no real process to provide input.

Here’s the reason lawyers defending Mr. Johnson and other minority voters gave outside the courtroom: 

“No one in leadership reached out to the African-American representatives and said, ‘How do we fix this?’,” said Allison Riggs, senior attorney for Southern Coalition for Social Justice Senior.

Plaintiffs in this case are fighting to convince the three-judge panel to order new, and more fair maps to be drawn. In court, NAACP lawyers presented a couple of maps they would like to see put into play.

Johnson testified, those Dallas County maps, if approved by this court, would give minorities in North Texas a chance to elect a Latino to Congress. In an interview during a break from testimony, attorneys pointed to Fort Bend County as an example where the Asian-minority population is on the rise. This means that any new maps constructed under court order should prove fruitful in the way of political clout for minority voters.

“I think if the court said, ‘Yes, there is no reason that they should have gerrymandered Fort Bend County to prevent Asian-Americans from electing their candidate of choice.’ If you draw a compact district in Fort Bend County, you will have a minority opportunity district. The only way you don’t is if you racially gerrymander it and fracture communities of color,” said Riggs.

Also for the first time during this trial, state attorneys argued political maps could be drawn with partisan motivation rather than racial. That type of intentional gerrymandering is not necessarily unconstitutional. 

Also at stake in this trial is whether the court decides to put Texas under federal supervision for any changes to election law. That would force the state’s hand to play more fair when it’s time to create new political districts.

Testimony continues early Wednesday morning.