Latest news with #redistricting
CBS News
7 hours ago
- Politics
- CBS News
North Texans rally against redistricting at UT Arlington hearing amid controversy over maps, voting rights
North Texans turned out in large numbers to make their voices heard at a redistricting hearing at UT Arlington on Monday evening. The effort to redraw the state's congressional map is one of the most controversial issues Gov. Greg Abbott has tasked state lawmakers with tackling this special session, which is currently underway in Austin. Ahead of Monday's hearings, a coalition of organizations held a rally on campus against what they're calling a "Trump power grab." Elected officials, community leaders, and other advocacy groups say they're worried Republicans will create unfair maps that dilute the voting power of minority communities. When he called the special session, Abbott said the current congressional maps needed to be changed because of constitutional concerns raised by the U.S. Department of Justice. The DOJ sent a letter to the governor earlier this month, saying four of the state's Democratic-controlled districts, including District 33, which covers parents of Tarrant and Dallas counties and is currently represented by Marc Veasey, are illegal because of racial gerrymandering. However, Democrats believe that's not the real reason for the unusual mid-decade redistricting effort. Texas Republicans are facing pressure from President Donald Trump to help maintain the GOP's control of the U.S House. He has said he wants five more representatives from Texas ahead of next year's midterm elections. No maps have been publicly released yet, but all the districts that border District 33 could be impacted by potential changes. So if this moves forward, it will likely impact the majority of North Texas voters. The hearing at UT Arlington began at 5 p.m. to a full house. Speakers are limited to two minutes each, and the public testimony portion of the hearing will be capped at five hours.
New York Times
9 hours ago
- Politics
- New York Times
In Fight for House, New York May Follow Texas in Redrawing Maps
If Texas lawmakers follow through on President Trump's call to redraw state congressional maps to help the Republican Party, New York leaders say they want to be ready to respond in kind. Democrats in the State Assembly and Senate will introduce a bill on Tuesday that would allow New York to redraw its own congressional lines mid-decade — instead of every 10 years, linked to the U.S. census — if another state does so first. 'Republicans have made it clear that they will stop at nothing to use this process to advance their political agenda,' said State Senator Michael Gianaris, the deputy majority leader sponsoring the bill in the Senate. 'If other states are going to do this, we shouldn't stand by and watch the Congress be lost.' Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas has cited 'constitutional concerns' in his call for Texas to draw new lines, but the actual motive seems political. Mr. Trump has suggested that Texas's redistricting could help Republicans gain five House seats in their mission to keep control of the chamber after the 2026 midterms. Currently, Republicans have a seven-seat edge in the House, with four seats vacant. To make Mr. Trump's desire a reality, Republican state lawmakers have begun a special legislative session, and public hearings on redistricting are underway. New York's response is the latest counterattack from Democratic-led states and organizations. The main super PAC supporting House Democrats has seeded a new fund with about $20 million to go after congressional Republicans in Texas if the state's legislators follow through on the redistricting effort. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Bloomberg
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Voters 'Sick of the Bloodsport' of Politics, Says Texas Democrat Talarico
Texas state Representative James Talarico, a rising Democratic Party star, said voters want to see authentic moral leadership from their politicians. He said that he is considering jumping into the 2026 race for Senate, but is right now focused on the special legislative session in the Texas statehouse and combating republic redistricting efforts. (Source: Bloomberg)
New York Times
21 hours ago
- Politics
- New York Times
Democrats Plan $20 Million Fund to Target Texas Republicans for Redistricting
The largest super PAC backing House Democrats is creating a new fund with upward of $20 million to target congressional Republicans in Texas if legislators there follow through on plans to redraw district lines to eliminate Democratic seats ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. At the direction of President Trump, Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas, a Republican, has called a special session of the State Legislature to remake the lines in the state in order to squeeze as many as five Democrats out of office in an effort to pad the current slim Republican majority in the House. National Democrats have decried the redistricting effort — lines are typically drawn once a decade after the census — as an effort to rig a Republican majority. 'Republicans are trying to steal five seats in Texas,' said Mike Smith, the president of the House Majority PAC, which is creating the new account, called the Lone Star Fund. The new account, he said, is partly a bid to tell congressional Republicans from Texas that their own jobs could be put in jeopardy by the remapping as Republican voters are shifted into formerly Democratic seats. But he said it was also a bid to recruit some unlikely Republican allies to oppose the new maps because they fear for their own careers. 'They should be scared and they should be vocal about being scared because they're about to get a bunch of money dropped on their head,' Mr. Smith said. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Texas Dem Rep pushes Democrats to gerrymander blue states as GOP redraws Texas map
President Trump is urging Texas lawmakers to redraw the state's congressional maps, although state maps are typically drawn at the end of each decade, making the timing ahead of the 2026 election unusual for such a move. Rep. Julie Johnson (D-TX), whose district may be targeted by the GOP to maintain their majority in Congress, joins Alex Witt to discuss.
