Latest news with #CongressionalMaps
New York Times
5 days ago
- Politics
- New York Times
Two Democratic Governors Say if Texas Redraws Congressional Maps, They May Too
The Democratic governors of two of the largest states in the country issued their most explicit threats yet to Republicans in Texas: If they draw new Congressional maps to favor their party before the 2026 election, Democrats will look to do the same. 'This is not a bluff,' Gov. Gavin Newsom of California said on Friday afternoon, minutes after meeting with Democrats from the Texas House. 'This is real, and trust me, it's more real after listening to these leaders today, how existential this is.' Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois issued a similar pledge. 'Everything is on the table,' he said on Friday. The response from the two governors — both of whom are seen as potential Democratic presidential candidates in 2028 — followed meetings with more than a dozen Democrats from the Texas House, who had flown to California and Illinois on Friday as part of an effort to beat back an aggressive Republican redistricting effort. 'We want the country to understand what's going on in Texas is a national battle,' said State Representative Richard Peña Raymond, a Democrat from Laredo who was part of the group that met with Mr. Pritzker in Chicago. Mr. Raymond said he stressed to the Illinois governor that the redistricting is 'clearly aimed at affecting the entire country.' Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas had called a special session of the Legislature to redraw the maps after private and public pressure from the White House. President Trump has pushed Texas Republicans to redraw their maps — though redistricting usually takes place only after the decennial census — to help preserve the party's majority in the U.S. House. He has suggested an additional five seats could be created for Republicans in Texas out of the state's 38 congressional districts. The party already holds 25 seats. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Bloomberg
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Tough for GOP to Get Five Seats in Texas: Convey
Erin Covey, Cook Political Report US House Editor, discusses Texas Republicans planning to redraw congressional maps in the hopes of gaining more seats in the House during the Midterms. Covey talks about how the process of gaining five additional seats is complicated, can put some Texas Republicans at risk, and why redistricting isn't an easy thing to do in Democratically lead states like California. Erin speaks with Tyler Kendall and Joe Mathieu on the late edition of Bloomberg's 'Balance of Power.' (Source: Bloomberg)
Associated Press
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Judges to weigh request to put Alabama under preclearance for a future congressional map
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Federal judges will weigh a request to bring Alabama back under the preclearance requirement of the Voting Rights Act after ruling the state intentionally diluted the voting strength of Black residents when drawing congressional lines. Black voters and civil rights organizations, who successfully challenged Alabama's congressional map, are asking a three-judge panel to require any new congressional maps drawn by state lawmakers to go through federal review before being implemented. The Alabama attorney general and the U.S. Department of Justice oppose the request. Judges on Thursday set a July 29 hearing on the request. The three-judge panel in 2023 ordered the use of a new congressional map in Alabama. The judges selected the new map after saying they were 'deeply troubled' that state lawmakers had ignored their directive to draw a second majority-Black district or something close to it. Plaintiffs said Alabama's actions and the defiance of the court order mirror the state's actions in the 1960s. 'Alabama sought to ignore, evade, and strategically frustrate attempts to remedy racial discrimination,' lawyers for the plaintiffs wrote in a court filing. The request would require new congressional maps drawn through the 2030 Census cycle to undergo federal review by the court before being used. The Voting Rights Act for decades required that states with a history of discrimination — including many in the South — get federal approval before changing the way they hold elections. The requirement of preclearance effectively went away in 2013 when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled, in a case arising from Alabama, that the provision determining which states are covered was outdated and unconstitutional. Plaintiffs argue that Alabama's actions should trigger the so-called 'bail-in' section of the Voting Rights Act that enables courts to retain jurisdiction and exercise preclearance power. 'Preclearance flips the burden on the State to prove its innocence. That power is extraordinary,' Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall's office wrote in a court filing opposing the request. The Justice Department is backing Alabama in asking the judges to reject the request. 'Preclearance is permissible only when jurisdictions have engaged in pervasive, flagrant, widespread, and rampant discrimination,' Justice Department lawyers wrote in the filing signed by the acting chief of the voting section. Alabama's actions did not rise to that level, they argued. The same three-judge panel in May permanently blocked Alabama from using the state-drawn map that they said flouted their directive to draw a plan that was fair to Black voters. The state is appealing that decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.
