Tag Archives: Census

Redistricting lawsuit #2 filed

Posted on October 28, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

This one focuses on just the Congressional map. An organization affiliated with Eric Holder, who was attorney general in the Obama administration, has filed a federal lawsuit seeking to overturn the state’s GOP-drawn redistricting map for Congress on behalf of … Continue reading →

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The new maps are now official

Posted on October 27, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Expect further lawsuits to follow. Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday approved Texas’ new political maps for the state’s congressional, legislative and State Board of Education districts, according to Texas Legislature Online. The maps were drawn to keep Texas Republicans in … Continue reading →

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I think we are going to have a regular March primary

Posted on October 24, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

This happened in the second special session, after the Dems came back from Washington DC. Senate Bill 13, from Senator Joan Huffman (R-Houston), has been sent to Governor Greg Abbott after being approved by the House and Senate this week. … Continue reading →

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Fort Bend County Commissioners Court redistricting

Posted on October 24, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

From last week. Fort Bend County commissioners has formally called for the redistricting process to begin this week. The Commissioners Court will have to prepare maps of new precincts, following the 2020 census, to ensure that the boundaries retain “one-person-one-vote” … Continue reading →

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First lawsuit filed against the redistricting maps

Posted on October 19, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Why wait? We already know they suck. Before they’ve even been signed into law, Texas’ new maps for Congress and the statehouse are being challenged in court for allegedly discriminating against Latino voters. Filing the first federal lawsuit Monday in … Continue reading →

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The Lege is now 3/4 done with redistricting

Posted on October 17, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

All but the Congressional maps are done. They’re just plowing through it. The Texas Legislature is nearing the end of its work to incorporate a decade’s worth of population growth into new political maps — pressing forward with efforts to … Continue reading →

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Senate passes Congressional map

Posted on October 9, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Start the litigation countdown. Yes, I know, this still has to pass the House, but still. The Texas Senate approved a map Friday that would largely protect incumbents in Congress while reducing the number of districts in which Black and … Continue reading →

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Senate approves its map

Posted on October 6, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

They wasted no time, which is another way of saying that they didn’t bother giving anyone else much time to provide input or feedback. The Texas Senate has approved a new political map for its own members that would entrench … Continue reading →

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More redistricting stuff

Posted on October 2, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Just a roundup of some redistricting stories. We’ll start with the DMN. The new map, part of a process of redrawing legislative boundaries every 10 years, makes significant changes in North Texas, where Democrats likely will gain a seat held … Continue reading →

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First proposed Congressional map is out

Posted on September 28, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a thing. Texas lawmakers on Monday released their first draft of a new congressional map for the next decade that includes two new districts in Austin and Houston — metropolitan areas with diverse populations tht fueled much of the … Continue reading →

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Get ready for redistricting

Posted on September 18, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

The next special session starts Monday, and we should expect to see proposed redistricting maps. It’s going to be a rough few weeks, in part because the guardrails are gone, which will allow Republicans to run amuck. The 2020 census … Continue reading →

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The Census and gentrification

Posted on September 11, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Some population trends of interest in Houston. People of color led Houston’s growth over the last 10 years, but that trend wasn’t reflected across all the city’s historic Black and Hispanic neighborhoods. Census data released earlier this month paints a … Continue reading →

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First redistricting lawsuit

Posted on September 2, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Faster than a speeding bullet… The first volley in what is expected to be a fierce war over Texas redistricting kicked off Wednesday in the form of a federal lawsuit filed by two Democratic state senators who argue that state … Continue reading →

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What about City Council and redistricting?

Posted on August 30, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Of interest: . NEW: Except for #DistrictD, all the #CouncilDistricts held by minorities need to add people to equalize population in #Houston’s #political jurisdictions. #redistricting @MarcCommentary @jcortina @PabloMPinto @houtopia @ReneeCrossTX @UHPoliticalSci @MarkPJonesTX @bjrottinghaus — hectordeleon (@hdl_perspective) 9:54 PM – 21 … Continue reading →

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A look ahead to Commissioners Court redistricting

Posted on August 24, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, the Census redistricting data is out, and that means a whole lot of map-drawing is in our future. The main focus on this will be in Austin where the Congressional and legislative maps are re-drawn, but those … Continue reading →

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Census data is out

Posted on August 14, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Get ready, there’s about to be a whole lot more legislative activity. Setting the stage for what is expected to be a bruising battle over political representation, the results of the 2020 census released Thursday showed that Texas’ explosive growth … Continue reading →

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Sheriff Gonzalez approved by Senate committee

Posted on August 8, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

We are one step closer to needing a new Sheriff. The Senate Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday advanced the nominations of two Texans tapped by President Joe Biden to lead Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Census Bureau. While San … Continue reading →

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Here come the young people

Posted on May 18, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I’m just sitting here waiting for the Census data. Garima Vyas always wanted to live in a big city. She thought about New York, long the destination for 20-something strivers, but was wary of the cost and complicated subway lines. … Continue reading →

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Census apportionment numbers are in

Posted on April 27, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Texas will gain two seats in Congress, which is one fewer than had been expected based on population growth estimates. Texas will continue to see its political clout grow as it gains two additional congressional seats — the most of … Continue reading →

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Bill to delay primaries passes Senate

Posted on April 12, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

As expected. 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 … Continue reading →

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Another look at how redistricting may go

Posted on February 27, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

RG Ratcliffe analyzes the geographic and political realities the Republicans face as they try to maximize their haul from the 2021 reapportionment. Rick Perry famously called West Texas—a sparse land with few trees or humans—the Big Empty. The 92,016 square … Continue reading →

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We’re not going to be able to have our primaries in March

Posted on February 14, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

That’s the obvious conclusion from this. Texas lawmakers will almost certainly be back for a rare special legislative session in the fall now that the U.S. Census Bureau has set a September deadline for releasing the 2020 census results. Facing … Continue reading →

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It’ll be awhile before redistricting happens

Posted on January 31, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

They’re waiting on Census data. The U.S. Census Bureau has again pushed back the release of the 2020 census results — a delay that will almost certainly force Texas lawmakers into legislative overtime this summer to redraw the state’s political … Continue reading →

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Census apportionment shenanigans to be officially curtailed

Posted on January 21, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

As it should be. The Trump administration’s protracted efforts to keep some immigrants from being counted when congressional seats are divvied up after the 2020 census ended with the former president’s departure from the White House, but President Joe Biden’s … Continue reading →

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Census Bureau will miss deadline that would allow for apportionment shenanigans

Posted on January 2, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Good. The Census Bureau will miss a year-end deadline for handing in numbers used for divvying up congressional seats, a delay that could undermine President Donald Trump’s efforts to exclude people in the country illegally from the count if the … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS mostly punts on Census apportionment shenanigans

Posted on December 22, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

They seem to be hoping that the problem will solve itself, while applying a partisan litmus test to when it is appropriate for them to step in. The Supreme Court dismissed a challenge to Donald Trump’s final sabotage of the … Continue reading →

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We might get better Census apportionment data

Posted on November 24, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Some good news. The Census Bureau has identified issues in the data from the 2020 decennial census that will take an additional 20 days or so for it to fix, and thus delay the release of survey’s apportionment data until … Continue reading →

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Still worried about the Census

Posted on October 18, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

There’s this. The census came to an abrupt halt Thursday after a pandemic and a legal tug-of-war threw the massive survey into chaos. Officials around the country now fear they’ll lose their fair share of federal funding and political representation … Continue reading →

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October Census deadline restored

Posted on September 27, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Good news, though as with everything we can’t be sure just yet that it’s for real. A federal judge in California late Thursday blocked the Trump administration from stopping the 2020 Census count next week, saying it should continue until … Continue reading →

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Scrambling to finish the Census

Posted on September 13, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a hell of a job, and it’s so important. With a deadline looming for local governments to complete a population count for the 2020 Census, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner is warning that the city could miss out on billions … Continue reading →

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Census shenanigans halted for now

Posted on September 8, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Good. [On] Saturday, US District Judge Lucy Koh issued a temporary restraining order to stop Census Bureau officials from winding down door-knocking and online, phone, and mail response collection by September 30—a month early—writing that the shortened census timeline could … Continue reading →

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Wait, there’s a Census going on?

Posted on September 5, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I smack my forehead so hard. Through a small notice tucked into the state’s business register, Texas appears to have acknowledged that the 2020 census count is going badly. With just a month of counting to go in the crucial … Continue reading →

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Lawsuit filed to restore original Census deadline

Posted on August 20, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Citing the high stakes of a botched census, Harris County and two of its Democratic county commissioners have signed on to a federal lawsuit trying to block the Trump administration’s efforts to end counting for the 2020 census a … Continue reading →

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It’s like we don’t want any extra Congresspeople

Posted on August 7, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

As someone once said, where’s the outrage? For months, as Texans have been asked to stay home to avoid the spread of the new coronavirus, Jennifer Edwards has been doing the rounds at gas stations in a trio of counties … Continue reading →

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