The 1965 federal law helped Latino and Black voters gain representation in city and school boards across Texas but now that could change.
Texas lawmakers will be able to draw more aggressively partisan maps for the state House, Senate and education board when they return in 2027.
While the court did not strike down the provision entirely, Justice Elena Kagan said Wednesday’s ruling made Section 2 of the VRA “all but a dead letter.”
Most Texas Republicans remained supportive of their state’s redraw even as their gains have been wiped out by California and Virginia.
A Republican-led House committee approved the penalties Friday, charging Democrats $500 for each day they were absent, plus costs borne by law enforcement to bring them back.
After finishing a distant second in the March 3 primary, Ryan Binkley dropped out of the runoff. Yarbrough is favored to win the general election for the redrawn 32nd District.
President Donald Trump recently endorsed Air Force veteran Carlos De La Cruz for the seat Texas Republicans drew at his request. Democrats also see a chance to win in November.
The once solidly blue 32nd District is considered the safest bet for Republicans out of the five Democratic seats targeted by the GOP’s new congressional gerrymander.
The Tribune’s team of data journalists produced a congressional redistricting tool, covered several education data releases, visualized the measles outbreak and more.
The Fort Worth congressman’s district was upended under the new GOP-friendly map approved this summer. He was expected to run for the district being vacated by Rep. Jasmine Crockett.
Houston Democrats are barreling toward a primary while North Texas Democrats await Rep. Jasmine Crockett’s Senate decision.
The ruling is a major win for the Trump administration and Texas Republicans, who engineered the map to give the GOP control of 30 of the state’s 38 congressional districts.
The administrative ruling is a first step before the court decides whether to pause the use of the 2025 map, drawn to increase GOP seats in the U.S. House, for the rest of the legal battle.
Judge Jeffrey Brown pointed to comments from the governor and GOP legislators as the basis for his ruling that the new map can’t be used in 2026.
Republicans hope the U.S. Supreme Court will overrule a three-judge panel and bring the new map back into play, but the deadline for candidates to file is less than three weeks away, Dec. 8.
Until being labeled as the "radical left," Brown was widely supported by Texas Republicans, including Gov. Greg Abbott, who previously hired him as his clerk. Abbott called the ruling “clearly erroneous.”
With Texas’ new map blocked by a federal court, California Democrats are emerging victorious — though the Supreme Court has yet to weigh in.
On Tuesday, a federal three-judge panel ruled against the use of a new Texas congressional map for the 2026 midterm election.
Republicans who were planning to run for newly gerrymandered districts may have to reassess, while Democrats who were drawn out of their seats could suddenly have a path back to Congress.
The decision is a major blow for Republicans, in Texas and nationally, who pushed through the mid-decade redistricting at the behest of President Donald Trump. Attorney General Ken Paxton said he would appeal.
The Democrat took a victory lap on rival Gov. Greg Abbott’s home turf Saturday and called on other blue states to push back on a GOP effort to retain control of the U.S. House.
A primary challenge to Rep. Sylvia Garcia underscores Latino Democrats’ fears of being unrepresented in Harris County.
The 5th Circuit last year overturned its previous ruling that allowed racial groups to band together to challenge voting maps, laying the groundwork for Texas’ mid-decade redistricting.
The same plaintiffs who are challenging the state’s 2021 maps have asked the court to block the new GOP-approved districts from being used in the fast-approaching midterms.
Republicans note that some of the districts they intend to flip were redrawn to become majority-Hispanic. Democrats say the GOP made sure to add Hispanic Texans who are unlikely to vote.
The statewide survey found that more voters disapprove of the mid-decade redraw than support it, fueled by overwhelming opposition from independent and Democratic voters.
Democrats in the Texas House began the year by elevating a new speaker and left Austin relegated to the sidelines in the one chamber that had granted them at least scraps from the table.
Last year, Texas Republicans drew new districts aimed at picking up five more U.S. House seats. This tool compares previous and new districts.
Between cracking down on abortion pills and restricting transgender restroom use, lawmakers also tackled flood safety and the STAAR test. Left untouched: Texas’ hemp industry.
House members who freeze future legislation by fleeing Texas will face steeper fines, loss of seniority and committee posts, and limits on political fundraising.
Despite explosive growth turning Tarrant into a racially diverse swing county, two new political maps will leave it with whiter, more Republican representation.
The governor was expected to sign off on the new district lines, which passed the Legislature last week and aim to flip five Democratic seats in the 2026 midterms.
Lujan, a Republican, represents a state House district that covers southern and eastern portions of San Antonio, overlapping with the new congressional seat.
Flores, who was going to challenge Rep. Henry Cuellar, is returning to her old district after a newly passed map improves Republicans’ chances of ousting Gonzalez.
The redistricting unfolding in Texas and spreading across the nation could change political representation in ways the country has rarely seen.
Democrats said the walkout inspired a national protest against GOP redistricting. But it also greased the path for other bills they oppose and unified Texas Republicans.
One lawsuit, filed by LULAC on behalf of 13 Texas residents, states that the redrawn districts in the new map are racially discriminatory and violate voter protection laws.
Republican lawmakers pushed the map through over fierce Democratic opposition, positioning the GOP to net up to five additional seats in Texas.
The League of United Latin American Citizens and the NAACP held a joint press conference to express frustration with the bill, calling it a suppression of minority voters.
Casar moved quickly to coalesce Austin Democrats, launching his campaign for the 37th Congressional District Monday with endorsements from 42 current and former Texas elected officials.
The Houston-area district, currently occupied by Democratic Rep. Al Green, is being redrawn by GOP lawmakers to favor Republicans and cover almost entirely new territory.
From urban cores to rural regions, Texans' needs differ. Experts say districts encompassing geographically distant communities will dilute their voices.
The governor announced he was expanding his special session agenda shortly after the Texas House passed a congressional map that Democrats had delayed by leaving the state.
The order bars Paxton from prosecuting O’Rourke’s nonprofit or otherwise bringing legal action aimed at revoking Powered by People’s charter.
Republican lawmakers are pursuing the unusual mid-decade redistricting plan amid pressure from President Donald Trump to protect the GOP’s slim majority in the U.S. House.
With Republicans rearranging congressional districts in hopes of picking up more seats in the 2026 midterms, the Marine reservist announced Monday he is “actively exploring” a run in the 35th congressional district.
Texas lawmakers redrew congressional districts in a partisan bid to give Republicans five additional U.S. House seats. The move set off a bipartisan war across the U.S.
After two weeks out of state, Democratic lawmakers returned to Austin, paving the way for Republicans to pass their proposed congressional map.
The second session is set to consider the same agenda that stalled in the first, with redistricting and disaster response at the top of the governor’s priorities.
The third-term governor appears determined to win any battle — even if it means scorched-earth primary crusades or trying to boot duly elected legislators from office.
In a statement, the House Democratic Caucus said its lawyers had advised returning “to build a strong public legislative record for the upcoming legal battle” against the GOP’s map.
The contest would unearth brewing Democratic tensions over age and experience, forcing Austin politicos to choose between two well-liked progressives.
Judge Scott Larson ruled that the Texas speaker and attorney general had “failed to present a legal basis for the court” to take up the issue.
Republicans believe population increases in red states, such as Texas, would offset losses from not counting immigrants who lack legal status.
In this week’s episode, Matthew and Eleanor ask University of Houston law professor David Froomkin to help them break down the legal cases seeking to remove 13 Democrats from the Texas House.
Democrats' absence has halted work in the Texas House, which must also approve the new boundaries, for more than a week.
The leaders of both chambers said they would adjourn for the session Friday if Democrats do not return, while the governor said he might add more items to his agenda.
The governor and attorney general have asked the court to find that Democratic lawmakers abandoned their seats when they left Texas to delay a new congressional map.
Since Democratic lawmakers left Texas to delay Republicans’ new map, state leaders have challenged the limits of traditional democratic norms to break the impasse.
The order came at the request of Attorney General Ken Paxton, who O’Rourke accused in a separate lawsuit of going on a “fishing expedition, constitutional rights be damned.”
Gov. Greg Abbott previously asked the court to expel Rep. Gene Wu, the House Democratic leader. Paxton disputed the governor’s authority to make the request.
The Democratic state lawmaker has inquired about Senate television ad rates, two sources told the Tribune.
Democrats concede there’s only so much they can do to keep Texas from redrawing its maps. But they want to encourage blue states to retaliate.
The attorney general is calling on the “full faith and credit” clause of the U.S. Constitution, which says states should typically honor each other’s judicial proceedings.
The situation is an opportunity for the speaker to bolster his credibility with the right, but he has limited tools to combat a prolonged Democratic absence.
In this week’s episode, Matthew and Eleanor speak with state Rep. Gina Hinojosa, D-Austin, about her and her colleagues’ decision to flee the state, the potential financial and criminal penalties and her opposition to the state’s proposed new congressional map.
Legal experts say it’s “inconsistent with the Texas Constitution” to argue that leaving the state to halt legislative action qualifies as abandoning an office.
The former El Paso congressman also contributed to House Democrats’ 2021 quorum break. A PAC backed by Democratic donor George Soros is also involved in this year’s effort.
The warrants apply only within state lines, making them largely symbolic as most of the legislators in question decamped to Illinois, New York and Massachusetts.
While the Democrats could technically derail the GOP’s redistricting map, such efforts have been largely symbolic and had limited success blocking past legislation, experts say.
The plan increases the share of Hispanic voters in three of the five districts targeted by the GOP, banking that enough will turn out and vote for Republicans without Donald Trump on the ballot.
The money could be used to cover the $500-a-day fines lawmakers would incur under House rules set to discourage members from absconding after Democrats fled the state in 2021.
The governor eventually agreed to include redistricting on his special session agenda after discussing the matter with the president on a phone call.
The Republican governor laid out an ambitious agenda that includes an unexpected array of conservative bills that failed during the regular session.
The plan would shift voters from safely red districts into blue ones. Members of the state’s Republican delegation aren’t sold on the idea.
The proposal would require the Texas Legislature to return for a special session to carry out the rare move of reshaping the state’s political boundaries mid-decade.
The Biden administration had challenged a Republican-led redistricting plan that diluted the political power of minorities. Other legal challenges will continue.
Judge Jeffrey V. Brown, a Trump appointee, found the county districts denied Black and Latino voters “the equal opportunity to participate in the political process.”
The coastal county faces a drawn-out trial over claims of intentional discrimination in its 2021 redistricting of commissioners court precincts. The only district in which Black and Latino voters could meaningfully influence elections was dismantled.
The high court left intact a key provision of the federal Voting Rights Act in a case many feared would go the other way. The decision’s importance in ongoing litigation over Texas’ political maps will largely be felt in what didn’t happen.
The 150 districts didn’t change, but the vote ensured the House met its constitutional requirement to approve new maps in the first regular session following formal publication of the 2020 census results.
The vote ensured the Senate met its constitutional requirement to redraw districts in the first regular session after publication of the 2020 census results.
After redistricting, the state constitution requires senators to draw lots to determine which half of the chamber will have four-year terms and which will have two-year terms. This keeps Senate district elections staggered every two years for the rest of the decade.
All 15 seats of the State Board of Education are up for grabs in November, and one race in District 7 highlights how critical race theory has become a key issue.
The Republican-drawn maps largely serve to bolster the party’s dominance. The maps are being challenged based on various claims, including intentional discrimination, vote dilution and racial gerrymandering.
More than 39,000 San Antonio residents are now in a new city council district after the 10 present members of the city council unanimously adopted a new council district map Thursday.
In order to re-balance the population of the city’s 10 council districts after a decade of lopsided growth, the city council has to approve a new map using the population numbers from the 2020 U.S. Census.
Republicans dismantled the only Galveston County commissioners precinct in which voters of color held political clout. It’s a major blow for Black and Hispanic voters who had been building political momentum.
Brackenridge Park is currently split between District 1 and District 2 along East Mulberry Avenue, but the proposed map would place it entirely within District 1 by removing the only two precincts in the district that are fully to the west of Broadway Avenue.
Texans who don’t vote in primaries and primary runoffs are missing a chance to choose who goes to Congress and the Texas Legislature. Thanks to the political maps drawn by lawmakers last year, only a handful of those contests will be competitive in November.