Texans, Democrats condemn GOP redistricting plans at first public hearing
At the first of at least seven hearings, members of the public aired grievances about the unusual mid-decade redistricting effort. Full Story
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![State Rep. Terry M. Wilson, R-Georgetown, looks at a congressional district map during a House Congressional Redistricting committee meeting on Thursday, July 24, 2025, in Austin, Texas.]()
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Texas Republicans, including Gov. Abbott, were reluctant to redraw the state’s congressional maps. Then Trump got involved.
The governor eventually agreed to include redistricting on his special session agenda after discussing the matter with the president on a phone call. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott at the state Capitol in Austin on June 11, 2025.]()
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Texas Democrats vow to use delay tactics to drag out GOP redistricting effort
With few options to prevent the Republican majority from passing a new congressional map, Democrats threatened to filibuster, delay hearings and even break quorum. Full Story
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![State Rep. Gene Wu, chair of the Texas House Democratic Caucus, speaks during a press conference at the Capitol in Austin on Monday, July 21, 2025.]()
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The Texas Legislature is back for a special session. Here’s what we’re watching.
Lawmakers will have 30 days to tackle a packed agenda outlined by Gov. Greg Abbott, from flood relief to redistricting to THC products. Full Story
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![The Texas Capitol seen on Monday June 30, 2025 in Austin, Texas.]()
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A guide to Texas’ special legislative session
Texas lawmakers start a 30-day special session July 21. They will tackle consumable THC, flood dangers, new congressional districts, abortion pills and other conservative priorities. Full Story
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![An empty House chamber, prior the start of the special session on Thursday, July 8, 2021.]()
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TribCast: Texas’ redistricting gamble
The gang is joined by Kareem Crayton, from the Brennan Center for Justice, to discuss Texas’ mid-decade redistricting effort. Full Story
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![Hands holding tweezers manipulate a puzzle's pieces that represent Texas voting districts.]()
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As Trump looks to net five GOP seats through Texas redistricting, Democrats grasp for response
President Donald Trump said he thinks Republicans could flip a handful of congressional districts in Texas next year through “just a very simple redrawing." Full Story
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![From left, U.S. Reps. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas, Greg Casar, D-Austin,and Al Green, D-Houston, attend a news conference with members of the Texas congressional delegation to discuss possible redistricting in the state at the Democratic National Committee offices on Tuesday, July 15, 2025.]()
Credit: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/Sipa USA vis REUTERS -
Texas leaders have repeatedly claimed the state’s voting maps are race blind. Until the Trump DOJ disagreed.
Gov. Greg Abbott has acknowledged DOJ concerns that some districts were drawn “along strict racial lines.” Critics say it’s a political ploy. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott speaks during a bill signing creating a Texas DOGE office at the capitol building in Austin on April 23, 2025.]()
Credit: Kaylee Greenlee for The Texas Tribune -
As Texas Republicans prepare for mid-decade redistricting, cautionary tales loom from the past
Spurred by President Donald Trump’s political team, Texas lawmakers will try to redraw the state’s congressional map to boost Republicans — but some GOP incumbents are uneasy. Full Story
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Gov. Abbott orders special session on Hill Country flooding, redistricting, THC and unfinished GOP priorities
The Republican governor laid out an ambitious agenda that includes an unexpected array of conservative bills that failed during the regular session. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott speaks at a press conference at the Hill Country Youth Event Center in Kerrville on Saturday, July 5, 2025.]()
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Trump aides want Texas to redraw its congressional maps to boost the GOP. What would that mean?
The plan would shift voters from safely red districts into blue ones. Members of the state’s Republican delegation aren’t sold on the idea. Full Story
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![The newest drafts of the statewide congressional districts in Texas outside the Senate Chamber in the Texas Capitol in Austin on Sept. 30 2021.]()
Credit: Dimitri Staszewski for The Texas Tribune -
Texas’ GOP congressional delegation meets to discuss redrawing districts ahead of midterms
The proposal would require the Texas Legislature to return for a special session to carry out the rare move of reshaping the state’s political boundaries mid-decade. Full Story
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![2020 Census data and redistricting maps at The Texas Tribune office in Austin on Oct. 7, 2021. The state population grew by nearly 4 million and was mostly driven by people of color.]()
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DOJ drops fight against Texas political maps as Trump administration retreats from voting rights cases
The Biden administration had challenged a Republican-led redistricting plan that diluted the political power of minorities. Other legal challenges will continue. Full Story
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![Census data from 2020 and redistricting maps at The Texas Tribune office in Austin on Oct. 7, 2021. The state population grew by nearly 4 million and was driven mainly by people of color.]()
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See how a fraction of voters decide who runs Texas
In Texas, who’ll run the state is usually decided in the primary. Because of gerrymandering and noncompetitive elections, few people participate. Full Story
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Federal judge rules Galveston County commissioner maps violate Voting Rights Act
Judge Jeffrey V. Brown, a Trump appointee, found the county districts denied Black and Latino voters “the equal opportunity to participate in the political process.” Full Story
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![Galveston County Commissioner Stephen Holmes chats with activist Roxy D. Hall Williamson after a Galveston County Commissioners Court meeting in Galveston, TX, on Monday, April 4, 2022.]()
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In federal trial, Galveston County challenged on efforts to undo Black and Latino voting power
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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![A statue of a returning Confederate soldier on Thursday, April 21, 2022 in Galveston, TX. Known as The “Dignified Resignation,” the monument has stood in front of the Galveston County Courthouse since 1911. Commissioner Stephen Holmes made a motion to have the statue removed in 2020 but it was not supported by any other commissioners.]()
Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune -
Where Texas redistricting lawsuits stand after U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Alabama case
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
![The newest drafts of the statewide congressional districts in Texas outside the Senate Chamber in the Texas Capitol in Austin on Sept. 30 2021.]()
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Texas House reaffirms the political maps it drew in 2021
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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![A map of Tarrant County shows Hispanics' voting age population on the House floor on Oct. 12, 2021.]()
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To be safe, Texas Senate again approves political district maps
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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Texas senators draw lots to determine how long their terms will be
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 Texas Senate Floor on June 8, 2022.]()
Credit: Kylie Cooper/The Texas Tribune
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