Controversially, this year鈥檚 draft maps include many more majority-white districts than whites鈥� share of the population. That鈥檚 also despite massive growth in since the last census. The maps will likely help white people and the Republican Party , at least for a few years.
Here are some other ways gerrymandering could affect the political process in Texas.
1. Depressing voter turnout
At the very ground level, partisan redistricting 鈥� commonly known as 鈥済errymandering鈥� 鈥� affects the behavior of voters. When a district is drawn to substantially favor one party, and there鈥檚 a well-known incumbent, there isn鈥檛 a robust election campaign.
鈥淧olitical parties don鈥檛 have infinite resources, so where are they going to spend resources? In the areas or elections where they believe it to be competitive,鈥� said Eric Lopez, a political science professor at UT-Tyler.
People who live in a gerrymandered district are far less likely to see candidate fliers or commercials. When no one鈥檚 out there trying to earn your vote, Lopez said, you might not see anything worth voting for. Or, along the same lines, if your party seems destined to win, why show up?
鈥淵ou start to understand why in Congressional elections turnout always tails off because you have less and less competitiveness,鈥� Lopez explained.
Those predictable local races can, in turn, affect turnout for statewide contests.
鈥淭hese local candidates who are out there knocking on doors, organizing their communities, making the phone calls 鈥� that adds to the overall movement,鈥� said Ed Espinoza, president of the progressive media group .
With gerrymandering, that organizing work is less likely to happen.
2. Stifling new candidates
Espinoza also said partisan redistricting can discourage good, potential candidates from running for office.
鈥淚f you are a Democrat who lives in an area that has been drawn into a conservative district, it doesn鈥檛 matter how liberal your community is. Your odds of winning to represent your area aren鈥檛 very good,鈥� he said.
This can happen to a conservative drawn into a liberal district too. If the numbers are significantly stacked against you, why bother?
3. Extreme policy
Gerrymandering doesn鈥檛 just stifle potential voters and potential candidates 鈥� it also skews policy.
Without competitive district races, legislators face little electoral blowback when laws they pass don鈥檛 reflect the state as a whole. That鈥檚 especially true in solidly-red Texas.
鈥淭he Republicans have clearly shown that they鈥檝e been able to control [redistricting] and use it to adopt legislation that in some instances a majority of Texans don鈥檛 support,鈥� said Bob Stein, a redistricting expert and professor at Rice University.
As an example, Stein pointed to the recently enacted law that . A showed only 13% of Texans think abortions should never be permitted.
鈥淲inning elections, for Republicans, this is not like a basketball game about running up the score,鈥� Stein said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about passing these legislative agendas.鈥�
According to Oklahoma State University professor Seth McKee, gerrymandering in Texas ultimately allows extreme portions of the Republican Party to achieve their policy goals.
A gerrymandered state Legislature creates 鈥渁n artificial reflection of the electorate,鈥� McKee explained.
Yet, from a political party鈥檚 perspective, that is a good thing, said Lopez of UT-Tyler. Gerrymandering helps parties achieve what they want, even if it makes the system of government less representative as a whole.
鈥淎t the end of the day, political parties care about themselves and political power,鈥� Lopez said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what politics is, right? It鈥檚 a fight over who yields governmental power.鈥�
There are surely other factors playing into decisions made by voters, candidates, and policymakers. But experts agree a big factor is partisan politicians in Texas 鈥� and elsewhere 鈥� drawing their own maps and choosing their own voters.
Got a tip? Email Bret Jaspers at bjaspers@kera.org. You can follow Bret on Twitter .
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