The latest redistricting news from The Texas Tribune.
The coastal county faces a drawn-out trial over claims of intentional discrimination in its 2021 redistricting of commissioners court precincts. The only district in which Black and Latino voters could meaningfully influence elections was dismantled. Full Story
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The high court left intact a key provision of the federal Voting Rights Act in a case many feared would go the other way. The decision’s importance in ongoing litigation over Texas’ political maps will largely be felt in what didn’t happen. Full Story
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The 150 districts didn’t change, but the vote ensured the House met its constitutional requirement to approve new maps in the first regular session following formal publication of the 2020 census results. Full Story
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The vote ensured the Senate met its constitutional requirement to redraw districts in the first regular session after publication of the 2020 census results. Full Story
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After redistricting, the state constitution requires senators to draw lots to determine which half of the chamber will have four-year terms and which will have two-year terms. This keeps Senate district elections staggered every two years for the rest of the decade. Full Story
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The redistricting process this year is mostly procedural and is not expected to produce very different results from the most recent process completed in 2021. Full Story
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All 15 seats of the State Board of Education are up for grabs in November, and one race in District 7 highlights how critical race theory has become a key issue. Full Story
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The Republican-drawn maps largely serve to bolster the party’s dominance. The maps are being challenged based on various claims, including intentional discrimination, vote dilution and racial gerrymandering. Full Story
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Republicans dismantled the only Galveston County commissioners precinct in which voters of color held political clout. It’s a major blow for Black and Hispanic voters who had been building political momentum. Full Story
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Texans who don’t vote in primaries and primary runoffs are missing a chance to choose who goes to Congress and the Texas Legislature. Thanks to the political maps drawn by lawmakers last year, only a handful of those contests will be competitive in November. Full Story
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See the full list of candidates in the Democratic and Republican primary runoffs, and find out who’s on your ballot based on where you live. Full Story
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Powell, a Democrat, had won Senate District 10 by winning over a coalition of diverse voters in Tarrant County. The GOP redrew the district to branch out to counties to the south and west that made it more rural and more white. Full Story
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As Texas defends against accusations that its new political maps are discriminatory, it’s laying the groundwork to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to throw out longstanding Voting Rights Act protections. Full Story
Texas has a history of a dismal turnout rate in primary elections. This year’s turnout was higher than the last six midterm primaries. Still, less than 1 in 5 registered voters participated. Full Story
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The redrawn state Senate District 10 splits Black and Hispanic voters in Tarrant County. A full trial on whether GOP lawmakers intentionally discriminated against voters of color is expected later this year. Full Story
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Texans will head back to the polls — from Feb. 14-25 for early voting and on election day, March 1 — for the 2022 primary election. Here’s an overview of what Texans need to know about casting a ballot. Full Story
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A three-judge federal panel is hearing arguments in a lawsuit claiming that Texas Republicans violated the Voting Rights Act when they redrew state Senate District 10 in Tarrant County to lessen Black and Hispanic voting power. Full Story
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With less than five weeks left in the primary election season, there is no shortage of political issues to debate. But most of the political conversation isn’t about the election. Full Story
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U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, is the favorite to return to Congress via Texas’ 37th District, while Republican Wesley Hunt is the leading contender in the 38th District. Full Story
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Challenges to new Texas laws on voting, political districts and abortion are all pending in court, as is the state’s challenge to federal vaccine mandates. But until the courts rule, those laws remain in place — and they provide political fodder for the incumbents who support them. Full Story
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