Tag Archives: redistricting

A little effort for redistricting reform

Posted on October 1, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a start. The National Democratic Redistricting Committee, the group led by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, is making a quarter-million-dollar investment in Texas to help Democrats here flip a number of state House seats in November. The money … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on A little effort for redistricting reform

Sarah Davis’ balancing act

Posted on September 30, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

As it will be for many of her Republican colleagues, especially in Harris County, 2018 is a challenging year for Rep. Sarah Davis. To understand how Republican state Rep. Sarah Davis plans to survive a possible Democratic blue wave in … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Partisan statewide judicial elections upheld

Posted on September 14, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I’d totally forgotten about this lawsuit. A federal judge has rejected a race-based challenge to the way Texans fill seats on the state’s highest courts. U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos of Corpus Christi handed the state of Texas a … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Partisan statewide judicial elections upheld

Going for Section 3

Posted on August 31, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I wouldn’t get my hopes up, but Lord knows this is desperately needed. The voters of color, civil rights groups and Democratic lawmakers who have long challenged the validity of Texas’ political maps were dealt a bruising loss earlier this … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Going for Section 3

Using one civil rights law to negate another

Posted on August 27, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

You have to give them credit for evil creativity, I guess. A majority-black county in rural Georgia announced a plan last week to close seven of its nine polling places ahead of the November election, claiming the polls cannot continue to operate … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Dallas County “discrimination against white voters” lawsuit dismissed

Posted on August 27, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

It was always a silly idea. A federal judge Thursday dismissed a landmark lawsuit that accused Dallas County commissioners of discriminating against white voters. The lawsuit sought to dismantle the boundaries the county uses to elect commissioners, claiming that the … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Dallas County “discrimination against white voters” lawsuit dismissed

The end of the voter ID fight

Posted on August 13, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I guess that’s it. After seven long years of litigation, opponents of Texas’ voter ID law say the case is over. In a court filing on Wednesday, opponents of the law requiring Texas voters to present photo identification to vote … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The end of the voter ID fight

Stalking Sessions

Posted on August 4, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

It sure would be sweet to beat Pete. The man who engineered the 2010 Republican takeover of the House is racing to save himself in his own election this year — and he admits, in so many words, that President … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Stalking Sessions

The Trib looks at the AG race

Posted on July 31, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

There’s case that this is the second-most interesting statewide race on the ballot. Three years ago almost to the day, a Collin County grand jury indicted Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for securities fraud. As the state’s top lawyer turned … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Trib looks at the AG race

Checking in on Pasadena

Posted on July 15, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

How’s it going over there? A year into his four-year term, [Pasadena Mayor Jeff] Wagner says he is focused on unifying a city whose ethnic and socioeconomic inequities were displayed before a national audience during the 2016 trial over a … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Same maps, different day

Posted on July 5, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

The coda to the SCOTUS redistricting ruling. The 2018 elections will move forward without any tweaks to Texas’ political maps. Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling to uphold all but one of the state’s political districts, a three-judge federal panel … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Same maps, different day

SCOTUS upholds Texas redistricting

Posted on June 26, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Screw this. Extinguishing the possibility that Texas could be placed back under federal electoral supervision, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday pushed aside claims that lawmakers intentionally discriminated against voters of color when they enacted the state’s congressional and state … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

SCOTUS punts on non-Texas redistricting cases

Posted on June 19, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

The Magic 8 ballSCOTUS says Reply hazy, try again later in the two partisan gerrymandering cases before it. On Monday, the court punted two major political redistricting cases: Gill v. Whitford, a challenge to Wisconsin’s Republican gerrymander, and Benisek v. Lamone, a … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Cities and suburbs up, rurals down

Posted on May 21, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

The story of Texas’ population. Recently released data from the Texas Demographic Center spelled bad news for many rural areas in the state: populations there were still shrinking, or growing slowly. Population growth in Texas remained concentrated in urban areas … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Cities and suburbs up, rurals down

SCOTUS hears the redistricting arguments

Posted on April 25, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

It’s in their hands now. Much of the argument concerned the issue of whether the case was properly before the justices at all. Last year, a three-judge panel of the Federal District Court for the Western District of Texas, in … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on SCOTUS hears the redistricting arguments

Today is Texas redistricting day at SCOTUS

Posted on April 24, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron sets the table. The nine justices of the U.S. Supreme Court will take their seats Tuesday morning to hear a case that could remake the political map of Texas. Hidden in the legalese of “interlocutory injunctions” and “statutory … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Testimony ends in Dallas County “oppressed white voters” trial

Posted on April 22, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

It’ll be awhile before we have a verdict. Testimony ended Thursday in the landmark redistricting case over whether Dallas County discriminates against white voters. The four-day trial — Ann Harding vs. Dallas County — featured analysis by local and national … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Testimony ends in Dallas County “oppressed white voters” trial

The math on redistricting

Posted on April 17, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

It’s not just that Republicans drew themselves a favorable map. It’s that they drew a durable favorable map. Thanks to those very effective Republican redistricting maps, Texas Democrats would have to improve their statewide election results by more than 10 … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , | 14 Comments

White voters sue Dallas County over claims of voter discrimination

Posted on April 11, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I have four things to say about this. Are white voters in Dallas County being discriminated against? That question, which might cause some to chuckle, will be answered after a trial starting April 16 that could change the face of … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

It’s going to be redistricting time for Texas at SCOTUS soon

Posted on April 6, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s an update. In their latest brief to the U.S. Supreme Court, the voting and minority rights groups challenging Texas’ political maps painted Republican state lawmakers as “opportunistically inconsistent in their treatment of appearance versus reality.” Pointing to the lawmakers’ … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The history of CD07

Posted on March 17, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Good read, though not really anything we didn’t already know. West University could have been the set for “Leave it to Beaver” when Serpell Edwards and his wife Betsy bought their home there 45 years ago. The neighbors were mostly … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Abbott’s anti-anti-redistricting task force

Posted on March 10, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Alternate title: Dude with deep pockets gives Greg Abbott a wad of cash to stop those evil Democrats. As Gov. Greg Abbott sounds the alarm about Democratic efforts to influence the post-2020 redistricting process, he is being backed up by … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

SCOTUS will hear oral arguments in the Texas redistricting case in April

Posted on March 2, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

On April 24, to be specific, according to Michael Li on Twitter. Both the Congressional and state legislative cases will be consolidated into one for the arguments. That means we should have a ruling by the end of June. See … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on SCOTUS will hear oral arguments in the Texas redistricting case in April

The National Democratic Redistricting Committee in Texas

Posted on February 27, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s say I’m hope but verify on this one. Former President Barack Obama and members of his administration are ready to take another shot at chipping away at Republican domination in Texas. A new group headed by former Attorney General … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The National Democratic Redistricting Committee in Texas

Congressional maps from an alternate universe

Posted on January 28, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

FiveThirtyEight goes a little nuts. Drawing clever political districts is one way politicians in Texas and elsewhere avoid accountability — by protecting themselves from voters who disagree with them. They do this by stuffing weirdly shaped geographic districts with voters … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Congressional maps from an alternate universe

SCOTUS will not hear Texas partisan gerrymandering appeal

Posted on January 17, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Not really a big deal. Texas, for now, will not join the list of states fighting in court over the limits of partisan gerrymandering. As it considers cases out of other states over whether extreme practices of partisan gerrymandering can … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on SCOTUS will not hear Texas partisan gerrymandering appeal

SCOTUS will take up Texas redistricting appeal

Posted on January 13, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

As the man once said, hold onto your butts. Further extending a drawn-out legal battle, the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear a case over whether Texas’ congressional and House district boundaries discriminate against voters of color. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on SCOTUS will take up Texas redistricting appeal

Yet another ruling against North Carolina’s Congressional map

Posted on January 11, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Because redistricting litigation is always of interest. A panel of federal judges struck down North Carolina’s congressional map on Tuesday, condemning it as unconstitutional because Republicans had drawn the map seeking a political advantage. The ruling was the first time … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Yet another ruling against North Carolina’s Congressional map

SCOTUS to consider Texas redistricting case in January

Posted on December 23, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Batten down the hatches. The U.S. Supreme Court will meet Jan. 5 to consider whether to take up a case on how Texas draws its congressional and statehouse maps. In a 5-4 decision split along ideological lines in September, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Concerns about the Census

Posted on November 16, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

We need to pay attention to this. Latino leaders are warning of a developing crisis in the 2020 census and demanding that the Census Bureau act aggressively to calm fears in immigrant populations about data misuse. Citing focus groups and … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Rep. Ted Poe to retire

Posted on November 8, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

We’re verging on a mass exodus here. U.S. Rep. Ted Poe, R-Humble, announced Tuesday evening that he will retire from Congress. “Thanks to the good Lord, I’m in good health, but it’s time for the next step,” Poe said in … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Rep. Ted Poe to retire

October campaign finance reports: Congress

Posted on October 31, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Here are the Q2 fundraising reports for Texas Democratic Congressional candidates. I’ll sum up the data below, but here’s the Trib with some highlights. After Democratic challengers outraised four Texas Republicans in Congress earlier this year, some Republicans recaptured fundraising … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Paxton officially appeals redistricting ruling to SCOTUS

Posted on October 19, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go. Attorney General Ken Paxton asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday to take up an appeal of a lower court ruling that invalidated two of Texas’ congressional districts. “It’s fitting that the Supreme Court hear this case, … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Paxton officially appeals redistricting ruling to SCOTUS

Pasadena City Council approves settlement in redistricting case

Posted on October 5, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

It’s over. The Pasadena City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a $1.1 million settlement agreement of a lawsuit challenging a city voting plan that a federal judge found diluted Latino voting influence. Councilman Cody Ray Wheeler said that after … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Pasadena City Council approves settlement in redistricting case