HB 4 (Hunter | Vasut | Pierson | Spiller | Guillen)
Relating to the composition of the districts for the election of members of the United States House of Representatives from the State of Texas.
Congressional Redistricting, Select: 12 Ayes, 8 Nays, 0 PNV, 1 Absent
Unfavorable
Redistricting should ensure fair representation, not allow politicians to select their voters. This level of racial gerrymandering is poor policy and harmful to democracy, which alone warrants an Unfavorable rating. Normally, state legislatures or commissions redraw districts every 10 years to match the timeline of the national census. The redistricting on the Governor’s call, on the other hand, is not legally required, fundamentally unfair, and should not be taking place.
Instead, state leadership has openly indicated that its goal is to create more Republican Congressional seats. However, the far greater, unforgivable aspect of these maps is the destruction of Congressional Districts that represent distinct communities of color, and the cracking and packing of those communities.
Had the 2024 election been conducted under the proposed map (PLAN C2333), President Donald Trump would have won three additional districts compared to the current congressional map:
- 9th District (Houston area): Currently held by Democratic Rep. Al Green, this district would have favored Donald Trump by at least 9 percentage points under the new map.
- 32nd District (Dallas suburbs): Currently held by Democratic Rep. Julie Johnson, this district would have favored Donald Trump by at least 7 percentage points under the new map.
- 35th District (San Antonio to Austin corridor): Currently held by Democratic Rep. Greg Casar, this district would have favored Donald Trump by at least 4 percentage points under the new map.
Plus, Republicans would have had stronger prospects in two South Texas districts currently held by Democrats. The map redraws the 28th District, held by Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar, and the 34th District, held by Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, to make them more favorable for Republicans. These districts were previously carried by Trump in 2024, despite being held by a Democratic representative.
Additionally, like the 2021 maps, the proposed map fails to accurately reflect the state’s population. Hispanic Texans are the state’s largest demographic group, and have driven population growth for the past 10 years. Under the proposed map, Latino voters would be the majority in only 8 of the 38 districts under the new plan.
Lastly, while the proposed map brings the total minority-majority districts from 7 to 10, it greatly weakens Black and Latino voters’ influence by diluting present representation. Tarrant County, which has the third largest concentration of Black voters in Texas, is cracked with its historic minority Black and Hispanic neighborhoods stranded in rural-based majority-white districts. In the Harris County region, Black-majority communities are packed into fewer districts, while Latino-heavy neighborhoods in the southeast are split between multiple white-majority districts.
Ultimately, regardless of how the map is drawn, this is an authoritarian move driven by President Trump and a deliberate attempt to rig the midterm elections because he fears his party losing control of the U.S. House of Representatives.