Tag Archives: redistricting

There’s only one way forward after this primary

The worst people you know had a very good week last week. It’s likely to get better for them after the runoffs. These headlines capture the essence of it: ‘Disastrous’: A shaken Texas House prepares for rightward shift after record … Continue reading

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Fifth Circuit does its thing with Galveston redistricting

Death, taxes, and the Fifth Circuit being terrible. The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has blocked a new political map imposed on Galveston County by a lower court from taking effect. Plaintiffs are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to … Continue reading

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Galveston ordered to use its current map for 2024

Pending the Fifth Circuit, of course. A federal judge ruled Galveston County must keep its old commissioner precinct map in place for the 2024 election while a federal appeals court mulls overturning its precedent and allowing new maps which do … Continue reading

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Yet another effort to kill the Voting Rights Act

Just a reminder that the Fifth Circuit isn’the only home for terrible appellate judges. A divided federal appellate panel took a pipe to the knees of the Voting Rights Act Monday, handing down an eyebrow-raising decision that would severely curtail … Continue reading

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Fifth Circuit upholds (*) Galveston redistricting ruling

With an asterisk, as noted in the title. A federal appeals court Friday ruled that Galveston County commissioners violated the U.S. Voting Rights Act by eliminating the only majority-minority district in its latest redistricting process. The 5th Circuit Court of … Continue reading

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Galveston redistricting ruling paused

The Fifth Circuit strikes again. Less than a week after a federal judge ruled Galveston County’s precinct maps violated the Voting Rights Act, the U.S Fifth Circuit Court issued a stay on the order. U.S. Circuit Court Judge Jeffery V. … Continue reading

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Galveston County redistricting ruled illegal

Good news. Galveston County Commissioners Court violated the Voting Rights Act when it approved a 2021 map that greatly limited voting power for Black and Latino voters in the county, a judge ruled Friday. In his ruling, U.S. District Judge … Continue reading

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Galveston redistricting lawsuit gets underway

This could be a big one. n the home of Juneteenth, the culmination of Galveston County’s decade-long effort to undermine the political power of Black and Latino voters is on trial. In the only county-level redistricting case which the federal … Continue reading

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Louisiana’s turn to (maybe) fix its racial gerrymander

They’re on the clock. The Supreme Court on Monday denied Louisiana’s attempt to block a lower court’s order that it redraw its congressional maps. That court found that the state had likely diluted the power of Black voters in violation … Continue reading

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Another look at Texas redistricting litigation after the Alabama SCOTUS ruling

An explainer from the Trib. The state faces an assortment of legal challenges to its congressional and statehouse maps, including allegations of intentional discrimination, vote dilution and racial gerrymandering. For example: In the Rio Grande Valley, the plaintiffs allege map-drawers … Continue reading

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Will the SCOTUS ruling on Alabama redistricting affect Texas?

Let’s start here. In a surprise win for voting rights activists, the U.S. Supreme Court breathed new life into the Civil Rights Act and may have paved the way to end Texas’s gerrymandered district. The case, Allen v. Milligan, came … Continue reading

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House re-passes its redistricting map

Done and done. The Texas House on Wednesday reapproved the map of districts for its 150 seats, which was redrawn in 2021 and fortified the Republican majority while diluting the voting strength of Hispanic and Black voters. The House made … Continue reading

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Precinct analysis: State Senate and SBOE 2022

PREVIOUSLY: State House 2022 A comparison with 2012 Congress 2022 As with Congress there won’t be much to see here. The fewer the districts, the more precise the redistricting can be. Here’s the State Senate: Dist Abbott Abb% Beto Beto% … Continue reading

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Even more Board of Managers applicants

Maybe now they have enough. When the Texas Education Agency in June appoints a new superintendent and nine managers to govern the Houston Independent School District, longtime educator and mother Anita Wadhwa hopes there will be someone like her sitting … Continue reading

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HCC approves its redistricting map

In the end, what was expected. The Houston Community College Board of Trustees approved on Wednesday a redrawn voter map that made small changes to all nine single-member districts but failed to reunify a previously split Third Ward. The trustees … Continue reading

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“Fort Worth is the new Austin”

Hadn’t thought of it that way. Who speaks for Fort Worth in the nation’s capital? For more than 25 years the go-to member of the Texas delegation for Tarrant County has been U.S. Rep. Kay Granger, R-Fort Worth. From securing … Continue reading

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CD15 is the target for 2024

We’ll see if it remains the only one. Democrats want South Texas back. The U.S. House Democratic campaign arm plans to dump funds into Texas’ 15th congressional district this election cycle in a bid to reclaim the most competitive seat … Continue reading

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Senate re-passes its redistricting map

Mostly political theater, as there’s little reason to believe they actually need to cover their butts at this point. A year and half after it was first approved, the Texas Senate on Monday voted to rubber-stamp a map setting the … Continue reading

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Precinct analysis: Congress 2022

PREVIOUSLY: State House 2022 A comparison with 2012 This will be short and bland, as there ain’t many competitive Congressional districts by any metric. Dist Abbott Abb% Beto Beto% =================================== 28 79,478 46.4% 88,550 51.7% 34 57,793 42.7% 75,741 55.9% … Continue reading

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Precinct analysis: Looking back at the 2012 landscape

PREVIOUSLY: State House 2022 We’ve had our first look at the way the new State House districts performed, and while we can expect the 2024 election to be a little different, it’s clear at this time that there aren’t many … Continue reading

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Precinct analysis: State House 2022

We have data. Texas Democrats and Republicans are beginning to gear up for a presidential election cycle in which opportunities to flip seats for Congress and the Legislature appear limited. It’s a natural outcome after Republicans redrew legislative and congressional … Continue reading

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HCC public hearing on redistricting today

From the inbox, sorry for the short notice. HCC Final Redistricting Public Hearing Your voice is still needed regarding HCC proposed redistricting maps for District IV which includes Third Ward and other surrounding communities. Join us, February 15th, in person (3100 Main … Continue reading

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Chron story on HCC redistricting

This focuses on one district, which seems to be the main and possibly only point of contention in the process. I’d like to know more than what was in this story. Houston Community College trustee Reagan Flowers had to receive … Continue reading

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HCC redistricting update

I got this email from HCC Trustee Reagan Flowers, which has prompted me to remind you that HCC redistricting is also happening, and per the Redistricting Info page, there are community events going on right now to help you understand … Continue reading

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It’s re-redistricting time

More amusing than alarming, with a bit of annoying as well. The Texas Senate voted unanimously on Wednesday to again take up the decennial process of redrawing the boundaries of the state’s political districts a year and a half after … Continue reading

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The Lege does its housekeeping

In the Senate, they drew their lots to see who would have to run again in 2024. It was the luck of the draw for Texas senators on Wednesday as they drew lots to decide which half of them would … Continue reading

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A walk through four districts, part 3: Try this at home!

In Part One I described my weird idea to take a stroll into four Congressional districts, something I decided I could do after taking a close look at the new map in Houston. In Part 2, I took you on … Continue reading

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HISD asked to hold off on redistricting

There are still concerns about the proposed map. Community members and advocates are asking the Houston ISD board to redraw its redistricting plans to keep communities in southwest Houston together so that the votes of Latinos and immigrants are not … Continue reading

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A walk through four districts, part 1

As you know, I draft stuff before I publish it. Sometimes, things I draft that aren’t particularly time-sensitive can get lost in the shuffle when there’s a lot of news of interest. Those things may get taken from the pile … Continue reading

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Precinct analysis: Hidalgo versus Mealer

PREVIOUSLY Beto versus Abbott Beto versus the spread We’ve looked at the Governor’s race, in which Beto was the top Democratic performer. Now we’ll look at the next highest profile race, in which the result was a surprise to some … Continue reading

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Precinct analysis: Beto versus the spread

PREVIOUSLY Beto versus Abbott So last time we saw the numbers for the 2022 Governor’s race. But what numbers need in order to be meaningful is context, and that means other numbers to compare them to. We’re going to do … Continue reading

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More information about HISD redistricting, please

A reasonable ask. Several local nonprofit and advocacy groups penned a letter asking Houston ISD to postpone its decision on how to redraw trustee district boundaries. Initially, the board was set to vote on the plan Thursday, according to a … Continue reading

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Precinct analysis: Beto versus Abbott

All right, I have the full landscape data for Harris County and the November 2022 election, and I’ll be doing my usual thing with it. There’s a lot of data and a lot of ways to explore it, some of … Continue reading

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LULAC files that lawsuit to end Houston City Council At Large districts

We’ve been waiting for this. The League of United Latin American Citizens on Monday filed its long-anticipated lawsuit against the city of Houston, seeking to get rid of at-large City Council seats that it says leave Hispanic residents with insufficient representation at City Hall. … Continue reading

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