Oppose Partisan Redistricting

The Texas House and Senate are currently holding public hearings on mid-decade Congressional Redistricting. The topic was added by the Governor to the 30-day special session, following a letter from the DOJ targeting four districts in the Houston and Dallas Forth-Worth areas: CD 9 (Al Greene), CD 33 (Mark Veasey), CD 18 (previously represented by Sylvester Turner), and CD 29 (Sylvia Garcia). All the districts being targeted are minority-majority districts, and Texas Republicans are aiming to gain five additional House seats for Congressional Republicans, prompted by Trump’s demand for strengthened control of the House of Representatives.

Texas is still reeling from the July floods. The special session should be focused on disaster prevention and relief, rather than mid-decade gerrymandering. Texas already disenfranchises minorities: 95% of the growth in 2020 came from minorities, yet the Legislature reduced the number of districts representing minorities. It makes no sense to redistrict while we still have pending lawsuits from the 2021 maps. Texas Republicans in the legislature and executive branches have argued in sworn testimony that those maps are legal, and those same Republicans are now arguing that the same maps are illegal and urgently in need of redrawing.

Demand your State Senator and Representative oppose HB 4 and any other redistricting bill. They should focus on floods and disaster relief rather than this undemocratic mid-decade redistricting. HB 4 is getting a public hearing at 10AM on Friday, August 1. In addition to calls, you can also provide testimony in person.