Hundreds of people packed an auditorium at UT Arlington Monday night for a hearing about congressional redistricting, and their overwhelming message was that redrawing the maps to give Republicans an advantage is a bad idea.
State lawmakers usually redistrict after the U.S. Census every 10 years. But in June, he wants the maps redrawn to favor Republicans, so he can pick up five new seats during midterm elections next year. Historically, the president's party .
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott had a phone call with Trump, and afterwards, he called lawmakers back to Austin for a special session about redistricting,
Voting rights in Texas were hard-won, and they鈥檙e under attack again, U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth, said at Monday鈥檚 meeting.
鈥淥nly now, the weapon is not a billy club or a literacy test, but a partisan pen wielded by those who would rig the system to preserve power rather than earn it,鈥� he said, invoking Jim Crow-era restrictions on Black voters.
Veasey's district could be a target in redistricting. Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Justice sent a letter to Texas officials saying four congressional districts represented by Democrats are racially gerrymandered, including Veasey鈥檚 and three Houston-area districts. Three out of the four districts are represented by people of color, and all have majority nonwhite voting populations, .
Several speakers at Monday night鈥檚 meeting pointed out the fact that Republican legislators voted for the current maps and defended them as
The state also stood behind the current maps from civil rights organizations. The lawsuit alleges the district boundaries diluted the power of voters of color.
The 449-seat Rosebud Auditorium at UTA was full long before the 5 p.m. start time. When the meeting started, hundreds of people were left milling around outside, listening to the testimony on their phones. The committee eventually set up an overflow room and broadcast the meeting in the lobby.
Before then, people waiting outside showed off their signs and props.
Former State Rep. Lon Burnam, a Fort Worth Democrat, hoisted a Trump pi帽ata. Ellen Saler-Santini of Dallas dressed as Lady Liberty and had a sign that said 鈥淪top the Steal, Hands Off Our Maps鈥� propped on her walker. One group walked around in the iconic red capes and white bonnets from the dystopian novel The Handmaid鈥檚 Tale.
This was Ryan Guerra鈥檚 first government meeting, he said. The 20-year-old musician from Arlington heard about it from a friend.
"I honestly think it's quite disgusting what they're trying to do," he said. "The mid-decade redistricting, not for any functional reason, but it seems like solely for the purpose of gerrymandering to an even greater extent the already heavily gerrymandered state of Texas.鈥�
There are no proposed maps yet, a fact that angered people . Inside the meeting, almost every speaker who came to address lawmakers opposed redistricting.
Rich Stoglin was one exception. He identified himself as the president of the Frederick Douglass Republicans of Tarrant County.
鈥淲e need Republican leadership for such a time as this,鈥� Stoglin said.
The audience booed Stoglin so loudly he struggled to finish his remarks. Redistricting Committee Chairman Rep. Cody Vasut urged the audience to be quiet.
鈥淭his is America. We hear from everyone whether we agree with them or not,鈥� Vasut said.
If that鈥檚 the case, this redistricting should not move forward, said Frederick Douglass Haynes, the pastor of Friendship-West Baptist Church.
鈥淲ith this particular dictate coming down from Washington D.C., our voices will not be heard,鈥� he said.
Tarrant County recently completed its own version of this controversial mid-decade redistricting. Republicans on the county commissioners court voted for a new precinct map that will make it harder for one of the court鈥檚 Democrats, Alisa Simmons, to win reelection next year.
鈥淭hey redrew our lines not because of population shift, not because our communities changed, but because they wanted to silence our voices,鈥� she said.
A group of Tarrant County residents have sued over the new maps, alleging racial discrimination. The maps made Simmons鈥� Precinct 2 more conservative by packing Black and Hispanic voters into a single precinct, the lawsuit alleges.
Republican county commissioners who voted for the plan said they redistricted for the partisan advantage alone, and race did not play a role in the process. They also pointed out Democrats .
Democratic leaders in blue states are thinking about redrawing their own maps to counter Texas, Veasey, whose district could be targeted, has filed a bill except on a court order.
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