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At hearing, Democrats say the redistricting process was flawed from the start | Houston Public Media

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Redistricting at a Cross‑Road: Democrats Say Texas’ Process Was Flawed from the Start

By a Houston Public Media reporter

On Tuesday, the Texas House convened a rare bipartisan hearing in which Democrats voiced their belief that the state’s redistricting process is fundamentally broken. The debate, which ran into the early hours, highlighted long‑standing concerns about partisan bias, the selection of the Texas Legislative Redistricting Board (LRB), and the broader question of whether the 2021 map will truly reflect the will of Texas voters.

A map that’s already been critiqued

The new map, adopted by the Texas Legislature in late 2021 and approved by the state Supreme Court, is the product of a process that many argue is designed to favor the Republican majority. Under the current system, the LRB is a three‑member body whose composition is set up to tilt the balance: the party with the most seats in each chamber appoints one member, while the minority party appoints the other two. In practice, this gives the Republican Party a 2‑1 advantage in the redistricting process—an arrangement that Democrats claim is a built‑in gerrymander.

During the hearing, Representative Sarah Brown, the chair of the House Democratic Caucus, noted that the map was criticized even before it was enacted. “The map was already flagged as unfair to communities of color,” she said. “We’ve been waiting for the courts to correct this, but the courts have repeatedly found the process itself to be unconstitutional.”

Key voices on the floor

Several Democratic lawmakers and advocacy figures were present to share their concerns:

• Rep. Brown called the board’s structure “undemocratic” and urged the House to pass a resolution calling for a federal lawsuit. She also suggested a constitutional amendment that would change the method of selecting board members.

• Representative Mark Delgado from District 42 spoke about the impact on Latino voters. “The map splits our communities and dilutes our influence,” he said. “We’re not just talking about the map—it’s about the political will to listen.”

• Dr. Leila Johnson, a civil rights attorney who has been involved in Texas redistricting litigation, testified that the map violates the Voting Rights Act by undermining minority representation. “Redistricting isn’t about politics; it’s about ensuring equal voice,” Johnson emphasized.

• Randall Thomas, the current chair of the LRB, defended the board’s neutrality. “Our job is to interpret the law, not to make politics,” he said, adding that the board had historically been “fair and balanced.” His comments were met with skepticism by the opposition, who pointed out that the board’s composition is already skewed.

The bigger picture

Redistricting is a key political process that determines how the 31,000 Texas voters are represented in the House, Senate, and at the federal level. The map drawn after the 2020 census will govern elections for the next decade. Because Texas is a “red state” with a Republican majority in the legislature, the new map is seen by many Democrats as a tool that will entrench GOP power for years to come.

The Texas Legislature has long maintained that its redistricting process is fair. But the hearing underscored a stark division over whether the process itself is neutral. Democrats argue that the LRB’s structure inherently disadvantages them and that the map will keep them from gaining seats in the House and Senate, even as demographic changes in Texas continue to shift the political landscape.

Looking ahead

The hearing concluded with a resolution that the House Democratic Caucus will petition the state Supreme Court to reconsider the process. The resolution also urged a federal review to ensure compliance with the Voting Rights Act. Meanwhile, the Republican leadership in the House maintains that the map has already been vetted and that any challenge would be a political maneuver rather than a legitimate legal claim.

The outcome remains uncertain. For now, the debate over the Texas redistricting process underscores a deeper national conversation about how states draw their electoral maps and whether the systems that do so are genuinely impartial. The hearing on Tuesday served as a reminder that, in Texas, the question of who gets to draw the lines is still very much a political battleground.