Sen. Joan Huffman
The 2022 primary elections in Texas could be pushed back to April or May under a bill moving through the state Legislature.
Because of delays in U.S. Census Bureau data needed to redraw the state’s congressional and legislative districts, the Texas Senate passed a bill on Thursday that could push the state’s primary to April 5, or if the delays persist, to May 24.
State Sen. Joan Huffman, a Houston Republican, said at this point Texas might not have the needed census data until deep into the summer. If they get the maps drawn up and passed into law fast enough, the March 1 primary would go on as planned. But if the maps aren’t put into law until after Nov. 22, the primary would shift to April 5.
If the maps are not done until after Jan. 3, the primary would shift to May 24.
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Huffman said she’s trying to put the Legislature in the best position possible in light of the census data delays.
“The bill will serve as a signal that the Legislature fully intends to complete the redistricting task once the census data is received,” she said.
We’ve known about the need for this for months, due to issues with receiving the Census data. It was just a question of how far back the primaries would need to be pushed. Sen. Huffman’s bill is SB1822, and I expect it will easily pass the House and be signed with no fuss.