Some Democrats in the Texas House want the state to name an outside commission to redraw Congressional and state legislative districts. The Texas legislature is now in its third special session, and Governor Greg Abbott has included redistricting on the agenda for this session.
"This growth in Texas, as the Census showed, is driven by people of color," says Rep. Victoria Neave-Criado [D-Dallas]. "In order for us to have equity in the Texas legislature, we need to have districts where diverse communities are able to elect the candidates of their choice."
According to the U.S. Census, Texas added 3,999,944 people from 2010 to 2020, an increase of 15.9%. The state's population is now 29,145,505, and Texas will gain two Congressional seats.
Census data show 95% of the state's growth was by African Americans and people who identified as Asian or Hispanic. According to the U.S. Census, 39.75% of Texans identified as "white"; 39.26% identified as "Hispanic."
State Sen. Nathan Johnson (D-Dallas) says an independent redistricting committee would prevent either party from using "their power to keep power." He says when Democrats held power in the legislature, they did the same thing.
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"We've got to work together on things, and your relationships with your fellow legislators, inside your caucus and in the other caucus, matter a whole lot," he says.
Johnson says "hyperpartisan gerrymandering" leads to candidates running on the far side of their political party to win a primary because a general election is likely to be less competitive.
"It depresses turnout. If the outcome is a foregone conclusion, people aren't as motivated to show up," he says.
"It's hard on everybody, but clearly, these maps are struggling to reflect the kind of population growth and in the areas where there's key population growth," says Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston.
Rottinghaus says 14 states now use a redistricting commission instead of leaving the process up to their legislature. He says some are partisan groups and others are not, but they do produce maps more quickly than Texas.
Rottinghaus says Colorado uses a redistricting commission, and while Democrats control the legislature there, they were worried the commission had drawn boundaries that benefit Republicans.
"That's what you get when you have these commissions that are bi-partisan, but it does provide for a quicker process. It provides for a more fair process," he says.
A committee in the Texas Senate approved a map Monday night for Congressional districts by a vote of 20-11. The committee also approved maps for the Board of Education. The maps will go to the full Senate and then Texas House for approval before being sent to Governor Greg Abbott.
This is the first redistricting to take place since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2013 Texas could draw maps without federal approval.
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