For this week's nonscientific survey of insiders in government and politics, we asked about the likelihood of special sessions, the issues that might force them and whether there will be multiple such sessions.

Republican leaders in Texas want the Legislature to take up redistricting this session. That's a bad idea, writes Matt Angle, director of the Lone Star Project.

Texas could trim the size of its court fights over redistricting by endorsing maps drawn by federal judges, but legislative leaders fear the harmony of the current session would evaporate in the process.

Having each House or Senate district match the others in size masks big differences in voting age populations that greatly affect politics and elections. Use our maps to explore the numbers and see how House and Senate districts compare to statewide averages.

Proponents of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act hope than an amicus brief filed by interests groups will sway the nine justices charged with rendering a decision on the landmark civil rights legislation.

Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act appears to be in danger of being overturned, according to various news outlets covering oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday.

Resuscitating the 2011 redistricting battle, two lawmakers have filed bills requiring the state to count prisoners at their last home address rather than where they are incarcerated. They say it cheats urban districts out of representatives.

The Texas Senate relied on chance Wednesday to determine which of them would serve for four years and which would serve for two years. For some legislators, the luck of the draw could have bigger political implications.

The letters dribbling into House Speaker Joe Straus' mailbox raise questions about the House's redistricting last session, but that's just a way for his rivals to raise questions about his leadership. 

As expected, the state of Texas is appealing a federal court decision throwing out Legislature's redistricting maps, Attorney General Greg Abbott announced Friday. The appeal, however, won't affect the current elections.

If a federal court decides that the state intentionally discriminated when drawing its new political maps, is it more difficult for Texas lawyers to argue against Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act? And is it fuel for the constant struggle over the leadership of the Texas House?

One of the House's most conservative members said Friday he is "pretty dismayed" about redistricting conversations revealed in a stern letter to House Speaker Joe Straus from a top Democratic legislator.

The state's top lawyer has filed a pile of lawsuits against the federal government. Two decisions last week — on redistricting maps and the state's voter ID law — went against Attorney General Greg Abbott and the state.

This week on the Newsreel: Redistricting maps tossed, Dewhurst runs for re-election, and the Senate's committees are being reorganized.

With the July 31 runoff around the corner, the Democratic candidates in Congressional District 23 are busy rallying voters across the district. And the size of CD-23 is only adding to the challenges for Pete Gallego and Ciro Rodriguez. 

It's easy to forget that redistricting and the Voting Rights Act are about voters. But sometimes, the voters jump up and remind you. 

State Rep. Barbara Nash, R-Arlington, is running for re-election in a district that shares only 20 percent of the population with the district that originally elected her two years ago.

In this week's special edition of the TribCast, taped live before an audience at the historic Cactus Cafe, Reeve, Emily, Julian and Ben talk about Texas primaries, the Supreme Court taking up the Arizona immigration law and The Colbert Report.