Texans told lawmakers last week what they thought about recent revisions to state Senate districts.
Speakers from across the state called in to a series of hearings held by the Senate Special Committee on Redistricting to share their opinions on the new districts, which some said are not representative of Texas populations.
Several told lawmakers that the districts were designed to consolidate power instead of aligning common interests within a region.
鈥淚deally districts should represent cohesive communities, but the only thing this map represents is raw partisan power,鈥� said Austin resident Josh Aber.
Daniel Diaz of said the maps also fail to match the growth of Latino populations in Texas.
鈥淟atinos have driven the state population increase over the past decade. We have very little to show for it in the new maps. Our maps should unequivocally match or be aligned with the Latino population we see in the state of Texas,鈥� Diaz said during Thursday's committee meeting.
The maps, originally approved by the legislature during a special session in 2021, have been embroiled in controversy 鈥� including and from the U.S. Justice Department, which called the maps discriminatory against minority groups.
However, Democratic state Senator Royce West of Dallas said he doesn鈥檛 expect any changes to district lines to come out the hearings.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to disappoint people but, in part, these are just perfunctory hearings. I鈥檓 hoping they have some impact, but I don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 going to have a lot of impact on the lines that are currently in place,鈥� West told 四虎影院.
The Texas Constitution requires that the legislature draws up maps for redistricting during the first regular session after U.S Census Bureau data is released. However, due to COVID, the data came after the regular session finished. Since the maps were approved during a special session, lawmakers are now just .
Still, West told 四虎影院 that Republicans designed the districts specifically to keep power in the party鈥檚 hands, calling it 鈥渁 sheer, unadulterated power grab.鈥�
鈥淚 think that the impact of this power grab is that a lot of people have been disenfranchised,鈥� said West.
He urged citizens to make their voices heard virtually at any future hearings redistricting committee meetings.
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 have to come to Austin to do it. You can be at your desk, frankly you can be in bed. The only thing you have to do is register, express your interest in testifying, and make sure you testify virtually.鈥�
