Texas Inmates Don't Vote, but They Sometimes Count
Texas prison inmates can’t vote, so most counties ignore them. But they can change the value of your votes for Congress and the state Legislature.
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The Legislative Redistricting Board is a body with the authority to adopt a legislative (but not congressional) redistricting plan if the Legislature fails to do so. It is comprised of the lieutenant governor, speaker of the House, attorney general, comptroller and land commissioner.
It was created by constitutional amendment in 1948, in part, to inspire legislators to redistrict after each ...
Texas prison inmates can’t vote, so most counties ignore them. But they can change the value of your votes for Congress and the state Legislature.
Full StoryBecause — as both Democrats and Republicans know well — the drawing of congressional, legislative and State Board of Education district lines determines, to a large extent, the outcomes of future elections.
Full StoryBuilding on the success of our previous redistricting interactive, the Tribune has prepared a new version that includes the redistricting maps for the state House, Senate and State Board of Education.
Full StoryTexas lawmakers actually finished their redistricting work this year, drawing new maps for Congress, the Texas House and Senate, and for the State Board of Education. But the fight is just starting, and could last beyond next year’s elections.
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The Legislature has just a few days to get the state budget, the most important bill of the session, passed and to the governor's desk. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports on the final items needed to send lawmakers home on time.
Full StoryThe legislative session ends in less than two weeks, and lawmakers won't take up a bill to redraw the state's congressional districts until later this week. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports on how the delay could affect how the new lines are drawn.
Full StoryA proposed map for redrawing Texas House district boundaries could help fortify the Republicans' majority in the lower chamber in 2012.
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There are 101 Republicans in the Texas House. But according to the map released by Redistricting Committee Chair Burt Solomons, R-Carrollton, not all of them will get re-elected.
Full StoryAt last Thursday's TribLive conversation, I interviewed state Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, and state Rep. Burt Solomons, R-Carrollton, about the maps they and their colleagues will draw for the state's House, Senate and congressional districts.
Full StoryNo time to follow every twist and turn of the Texas Legislature? We've made it easier for you with our weekly recaps of the action under the dome.
No time to follow every twist and turn of the Texas Legislature? We've made it easier for you with our weekly recaps of the action under the dome.
Full StoryFor the latest installment of our nonscientific survey of political and policy insiders, we asked whether the Legislature will finish its redistricting chores or will need help, whether Republicans will be able to ensure future supermajorities, and how lawmakers will split four new congressional seats between the political parties.
Full StoryOrganizations from across the country have come together at the annual National Latino Congreso in Austin to strategize on legislation affecting the Latino community. And as Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, all eyes are on redistricting this year.
Full StoryAnglo Democrats — an endangered species when the political mapmakers were working in 2001 — might be a protected species this year. Many of them represent districts full of minority voters they say are protected from disruptive redistricting.
Full StoryRamshaw and Stiles on the tepid growth of Big D during the last decade, Hamilton talks immigration with state Rep. Leo Berman, M. Smith on Texas education's Race to the Top efforts and more: The best of our best content from Feb. 28 to March 4, 2011.
Full StoryYou don't need a new map to find the political trouble spots in Texas — and by trouble, we mean officeholders who are vulnerable in the redistricting process.
Full StoryTexas' explosive growth during the past decade was fueled by a boom in its minority population, which accounted for 89 percent of the total increase in population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Full StoryNew U.S. census data shows the Hispanic population in Texas increased by 42 percent since 2000 and makes up 38 percent of the population. The state's total population increased by 4,293,741 since 2000.
Full StoryThe 82nd Texas Legislature convenes in Austin this week, and while it’s not as much fun as the circus — usually — it’s more important and does have its share of comedy and drama.
Full StoryYes, yes, the governor’s race: It’s tended to suck all the air out of the room this election cycle, hasn’t it? But there’s an undercard as well, and even if it’s received scant attention by comparison, don’t think it doesn’t matter. To the contrary, the outcome of races other than the one at the top of the ballot has serious implications for a great many matters of politics and policy that will affect and should interest every single Texan in the near term.
Full StoryIn this week's TribCast, Ross, Evan, Ben and Reeve discuss the summer political fundraising season, TxDOT's audit, how population projections will impact into redistricting and the politics of pollution.
Full StoryThe Fort Hood shooter made his first courtroom appearance Tuesday, but a trial, the military court decided, won't happen until October.
Full StoryRepublican and Democratic members of the Texas congressional delegation are discussing a possible compromise designed to cool off the overheated politics of congressional redistricting by dividing the expected spoils once U.S. Census figures are in and the reapportionment process begins in 2011, two members of the delegation say.
Full StoryIn 2011, political mapmakers will take the latest census numbers (Texas is expected to have a population of more than 25 million) and use them to draw new congressional and legislative districts. The last time this was done, in 2003, Republican mappers took control of the U.S. House by peeling away seats from the Democrats. This time, Texas is poised to add up to four seats to its congressional delegation — and early numbers indicate bad news ahead for West Texas and other areas that haven't kept up with the state's phenomenal growth.
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Census Bureau questionnaires arrive at 8.4 million Texas homes this week. "Fill that sucker out," the bureau's regional director says, "so we don't have to come and knock on your door."
Full StoryWhat does the 2010 census mean for 2011 redistricting? Ben Philpott filed this report for KUT News and the Tribune.
Full StoryIt's going to be a noisy start to the year for Republicans, who have an unusual number of primary challengers to incumbents. Democrats, meanwhile, are making a weak play for political control in the next decade.
Full StoryThink like the political pros and your mind will go to the long game instead of the short one. The short game is the elections of 2010. The long game is redistricting in 2011, when maps are drawn that corral the voters into the districts that will elect legislators for the next ten years.
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