WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Texas on Monday alleging the state violated the Voting Rights Act by creating redistricting plans that discriminate against minority voters, Attorney General Merrick Garland said.

The redistricting plans dilute the Black and Latino vote and violate Section 2 of the voting act, Garland said at a news conference.

“These redistricting plans will diminish the opportunity for Black and Latino voters” to elect their preferred candidates, and they were written with discriminatory intent, Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta said.

It was the second time this year that the Justice Department has sued Texas over voting rights.

(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch and Doina Chiacu; Editing by Aurora Ellis)