Redistricting

Analysis: The Texas Senate will be a quiet zone in a noisy, important election year

by Ross Ramsey

In what promises to be a tumultuous and competitive election year, races for the Texas House are going to be a lot more interesting than those for the Texas Senate. Full Story 

Analysis: Texas candidates have one week left to sign up or shut up

by Ross Ramsey

Candidates have one more week to officially declare their 2020 campaigns. In the Texas House — a key partisan battleground — as many as 31 districts, out of 150, could be competitive. Full Story 

Texas considering whether to hand driver’s license, citizenship information to Census Bureau

by Alexa Ura

The Texas Department of Public Safety received a request for the information earlier this month but has taken no action. Full Story 

Analysis: A haunted House story about Texas speakers and redistricting

by Ross Ramsey

Texas House speakers come and go. So do redistricting sessions in the Texas Legislature. And maybe — just maybe — there's a relationship between those two cycles. Full Story 

Analysis: Texas redistricting is hard enough when politicians trust the mapmakers

by Ross Ramsey

Lawmakers get jittery when it's time to redraw their political maps, and the exercise is based on a mix of power, party, clout, tenure — and trust. That last one is a fleeting quality in the Texas House right now. Full Story 

How a decade of voting rights fights led to fewer redistricting safeguards for Texas voters of color

by Alexa Ura

In a state with a long history of discrimination, lawmakers on Tuesday will kick off the 2021 round of political mapmaking — the first in nearly half a century without federal oversight. Full Story 

Analysis: Despite its record, Texas can remake its political maps without a federal permission slip

by Ross Ramsey

After multiple court findings that Texas intentionally discriminated in drawing political maps and writing election laws, a panel of federal judges says the state won't be subjected to federal oversight under the Voting Rights Act. Full Story 

What problems have you encountered while trying to vote in Texas? Share your story with us.

by Alexa Ura

The Texas Tribune is launching an occasional series into problems and challenges Texans face while trying to vote — and possible ways to fix them. Share your experiences with us. Full Story 

Texas won’t be placed back under federal supervision for redistricting despite findings of intentional discrimination

by Alexa Ura

The panel ruled that such an action wasn't warranted, though it previously ruled that state lawmakers discriminated against voters of color when they first drew new maps in 2011. Full Story 

Analysis: Political eyes are not all on the Texas prize you think

by Ross Ramsey

The top races are more exciting and will get more attention, but the Texas trophy in the 2020 election will go to the party that wins control of the state's House of Representatives. Full Story 

Census citizenship question ruling sets up legal path for Texans fighting the question

by Alexa Ura

The U.S. Supreme Court threw the inclusion of a citizenship question on the census in doubt, but another legal challenge with Texas ties could bring an end to the controversy. Full Story 

Analysis: Tinkering with the 2020 elections in the Texas Legislature

by Ross Ramsey

The power of incumbency is more than raising money for campaigns and having a well-known political name. Changing the state's election laws — or even debating issues that resonate strongly with voters — can set the rules and frame the arguments for the next election cycle. Full Story 

In long-winding case, court considers federal oversight of Texas redistricting

by Alexa Ura

A panel of three judges heard arguments in the high-stakes fight that could return Texas to the days of federal supervision of its political maps. Full Story 

Trump administration opposes a return to federal oversight for Texas redistricting, reversing Obama-era stance

by Alexa Ura

The Trump administration no longer supports requiring Texas to obtain federal approval of changes to its legislative and congressional maps. Full Story 

We took young Texans’ questions straight to the candidates. Here’s what they said.

by Emily Yount Swelgin, Alex Samuels and Cassandra Pollock

Find out where Texas midterm candidates stand on student debt, DACA, school gun violence and more. Full Story 

Court: Lawmakers must redraw North Texas' HD-90 early next year

by Alexa Ura

If a proposal isn't introduced within the first 45 days of the legislative session, the court will redraw the district itself. Full Story 

After loss at Supreme Court, groups continue push for federal oversight of Texas redistricting

by Alexa Ura

Some of the groups that have sued over the state's political maps made their intentions clear in a court filing Wednesday. Full Story 

Analysis: Legal political maps — except for those minority voters in Fort Worth

by Ross Ramsey

The nation's highest court says the political maps in Texas are legal, except for racial gerrymandering in one Fort Worth district. But the courts aren't going to fix that in time for this year's elections. Full Story 

Texas elections to move forward without changes to state House district map despite racial gerrymander finding

by Alexa Ura

A San Antonio-based panel of judges ordered the state's maps should remain unchanged despite outstanding issues with House District 90, which the U.S. Supreme Court said was illegally drawn. Full Story 

U.S. Supreme Court rules Texas lawmakers did not intentionally discriminate in drawing political maps

by Alexa Ura

The court also upheld 10 of 11 districts that had been flagged as problematic. Full Story