Tag Archives: redistricting

Radack drops his redistricting lawsuit

Posted on June 7, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Former Harris County Commissioner Steve Radack voluntarily dismissed the lawsuit he filed against Harris County Commissioners Court alleging Commissioners Court violated the Open Meetings Act during county redistricting. Below is a statement from Harris County Attorney Christian … Continue reading →

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Another look at how Galveston County disenfranchised its voters of color

Posted on May 30, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib takes a deep dive. Carver Park in Texas City, created during segregation, is considered the first African American county park in the state. It sits on land donated by descendants of freedmen who survived slavery and pioneered one … Continue reading →

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We really missed counting a lot of people in Texas

Posted on May 21, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Over half a million, by the latest estimate. Tripped up by politics and the pandemic — and with only a last-minute investment in promotion by the state — the 2020 census likely undercounted the Texas population by roughly 2%, the … Continue reading →

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April 2022 campaign finance reports: Congress

Posted on May 3, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The primaries are over, and while we do still have some runoffs plus now a weird special election in CD34, we do have a smaller set of races and candidates to review. Given how many I had to cram into … Continue reading →

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Here’s your public meeting schedule for Houston City Council redistricting

Posted on April 20, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Attend one and be In The Know. Houston residents will have a chance to preview potential changes to Houston’s 11 City Council districts at a series of public town hall meetings in April and May. […] The town hall meetings … Continue reading →

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Second lawsuit filed over Galveston redistricting

Posted on April 17, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Similar grounds, different plaintiffs. A coalition of civil rights groups in Texas filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against Galveston County, alleging that the county’s redistricting plan intentionally discriminates against a growing minority population in the Gulf Coast community. The complaint, … Continue reading →

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Sen. Powell ends her re-election bid

Posted on April 7, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Disappointing but understandable. State Sen. Beverly Powell, D-Burleson, ended her reelection campaign Wednesday morning, citing an “unwinnable race” in a district that Republican lawmakers had redrawn to make a Democratic win impossible. “Under the new map that will remain intact … Continue reading →

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The dark side of redistricting litigation

Posted on April 5, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The state of Texas is taking a big swing in defense of its gerrymanders, and if they connect it’s going to be devastating. Beyond the immediate legal fight over whether Texas lawmakers again discriminated against voters of color when drawing … Continue reading →

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Chron story on City Council redistricting

Posted on April 1, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Lots more info now. As Houston begins to redraw its City Council map for the 2023 elections, two districts representing western portions of the city, including Montrose, the Heights, River Oaks, and Uptown, among other neighborhoods, have out-sized populations that … Continue reading →

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City Council redistricting is on the dock

Posted on March 28, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s a schedule of events related to redistricting for Houston City Council. Some of this has already happened. Last week, unless it got tagged in which case it will come up again at the next Council meeting, Council should have … Continue reading →

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Justice Department sues over Galveston County Commissioners Court map

Posted on March 26, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Good, but remember how the federal courts are these days before getting too optimistic. The Department of Justice on Thursday sued Galveston County over its new redistricting map, accusing Republican county officials of violating the Voting Rights Act last year … Continue reading →

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SCOTx hearing on state redistricting lawsuits

Posted on March 24, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The state lawsuits over the “county line rule” in Cameron County and the Eckhardt/Gutierrez “decennial redistricting only in a regular session” contention had a hearing before the State Supreme Court over whether these suits can be heard in state district … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: The new Senate map

Posted on March 22, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Previously: New State House map, New Congressional map, new SBOE map. The good news is that all 31 Senate seats will be on the ballot this year, as it is a post-redistricting year. The bad news is that the only … Continue reading →

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Of course the Census undercounted people of color

Posted on March 14, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

This was the Trump administration’s goal from the beginning. The 2020 census continued a longstanding trend of undercounting Black people, Latinos and Native Americans, while overcounting people who identified as white and not Latino, according to estimates from a report the U.S. … Continue reading →

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The only constant is change

Posted on February 28, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

This DMN story is about the wave of changes to the various legislative caucuses in North Dallas, but if you pull the lens back just a little, you can see how universal it is. Proponents of term limits complain that … Continue reading →

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HCC special election set

Posted on February 11, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

All you need to know. On Saturday, May 7, 2022, Houston Community College System (“HCC”) will hold a special election to fill a vacancy in the HCC Board of Trustee position for geographic district II for the unexpired term through … Continue reading →

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January 2022 campaign finance reports: Congress

Posted on February 10, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The filing deadline has passed, the primary lineups are set, and we have a new set of races and candidates to review. As was the case in the past two cycles, I’ll follow the contested primaries as well as the … Continue reading →

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No restraining order in SD10 lawsuit

Posted on February 2, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The March primary will officially proceed as scheduled. A federal three-judge panel in El Paso on Tuesday denied a request by Tarrant County residents to block a reconfigured state Senate district from being used in the upcoming March primary election … Continue reading →

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The SD10 redistricting lawsuit gets off to a rousing start

Posted on January 28, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I did not see this coming. In a sworn declaration submitted as part of an ongoing federal court challenge, a senior Republican state senator with redistricting experience said he believes his party violated federal voting laws when it drew new … Continue reading →

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Is it time to ditch At Large seats on Houston City Council?

Posted on January 26, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s one argument for it. The lack of Latinos on the City Council undermines the legitimacy of Houston’s government, experts say, and is something that a prominent Hispanic organization is pushing to change with a lawsuit and ballot proposition. The … Continue reading →

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SD10 lawsuit gets its hearing

Posted on January 25, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The last possible obstacle to a March primary, and the first redistricting lawsuit to get a merits hearing. A federal district judge in El Paso on Tuesday will preside over one of several challenges against the state of Texas and … Continue reading →

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Supreme Court to hear whether state redistricting lawsuit can proceed

Posted on January 24, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the update I’ve been waiting for. Not what I was hoping for, but it is what it is. The state’s bid to toss a legal challenge arguing last year’s GOP-led redistricting effort violated the Texas Constitution is headed to … Continue reading →

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“Unprecedented” meddling in the Census

Posted on January 18, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

They weren’t subtle about it. A newly disclosed memorandum citing “unprecedented” meddling by the Trump administration in the 2020 census and circulated among top Census Bureau officials indicates how strongly they sought to resist efforts by the administration to manipulate … Continue reading →

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On primarying the quorum breakers

Posted on January 16, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Of interest. Working Families Party, a political party and relative newcomer to Texas politics that backs Democrats aligned with their platform, aims to spend in the ballpark of half a million dollars this cycle, WFP Texas Co-director Pedro Lira told … Continue reading →

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Supreme Court rejects mandamus over Commissioners Court redistricting

Posted on January 12, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The primary will proceed as scheduled, but the issue could be revisited sometime after the 2022 election. The Texas Supreme Court rejected an effort by Republican commissioners and voters to block Harris County’s recent redistricting plan on Friday, suggesting another … Continue reading →

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Another lawsuit filed over Commissioners Court redistricting

Posted on January 7, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

What a bunch of crybabies. A former county commissioner is suing Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, claiming Hidalgo and the county violated state law when they met to approve redistricting maps. Former Commissioner Steve Radack argues the commissioners violated the … Continue reading →

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What does “race blind” redistricting even mean?

Posted on January 2, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Good question. In states like Texas and North Carolina, Republican lawmakers in charge of redrawing the political maps for the next decade say that the new plans are “race blind.” Their opponents in court say that the claim is implausible and one … Continue reading →

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Still no Metro redistricting

Posted on January 2, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Check again in 2031. Growth in western Harris County outside Houston’s boundaries was not enough to tip Metro’s board to 11 members during the 2020 Census, transit officials said “It didn’t occur, so we have the same board composition,” said … Continue reading →

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An early look at the primary for Commissioners Court, Precinct 4

Posted on December 31, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I have a few thoughts about this. With a new Harris County precinct map in place, Democrats may have their best chance in a dozen years of capturing Precinct 4. That’s set up a fierce, three-way contest in the Democratic … Continue reading →

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Lawsuit over Harris County Commissioners Court redistricting tossed

Posted on December 30, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Missed this over the holidays. A Harris County Judge on Wednesday tossed a lawsuit from Republican commissioners and voters over new county maps that favor Democrats. Judge Dedra Davis ruled in favor of Harris County, finding that Republican commissioners Jack … Continue reading →

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The state of the state redistricting lawsuits

Posted on December 26, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

A good update, and a reminder that not all of the action is in federal court. In two cases heard [December 14 and 15], a group of mostly Democratic, Hispanic lawmakers from both chambers challenged the legality of when and … Continue reading →

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The “prison gerrymandering” lawsuit

Posted on December 23, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Of the many lawsuits filed so far over Texas redistricting, this is the one I know the least about. Nearly a quarter of a million people were incarcerated in Texas when the Census was taken last year. When lawmakers redrew … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: The new SBOE map

Posted on December 22, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Previously: New State House map, New Congressional map I probably care more about the SBOE than most normal people do. It’s not that powerful an entity, there are only 15 seats on it, and their elections go largely under the … Continue reading →

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Rep. Martinez-Fischer sues over CD35

Posted on December 21, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

One more federal redistricting lawsuit to add to the pile. Texas State Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer filed a lawsuit today challenging boundaries of the recently redrawn U.S. House District 35. In the lawsuit, Fischer claims that the redrawn map violates … Continue reading →

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