New interim maps for Texas

[sonias]

Texas Redistricting blog 7/28/12
New interim maps

They're not pretty for Austin.

[northoftheborder]

1. Ridiculous.

[sonias]

2. We're screwed.

[sonias]

3. San Antonio court releases redistricting map for U.S. House

Postcards from the Lege blog AAS 2/28/12
San Antonio court releases redistricting map for U.S. House

A federal court in San Antonio has released redistricting maps for the U.S. House and Texas House.

The interim congressional map shows that Travis County will have five congressional districts up from the current three. One of them, District 35, will be anchored in Bexar County. U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, is expected to run in District 35.

Doggett has said in the past that he would abandon his current Congressional District 25 if it ended up looking like the Republican district that was envisioned by the GOP-controlled Legislature last session.

District 35 was proposed originally by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund to be a district in which Latinos could elect the candidate of their choosing.

It's Doggett vs Castro once again. They've pitted us against each other again.

[sonias]

4. Court Delivers Election Maps for Texas House, Congress

Texas Tribune 2/28/12
Court Delivers Election Maps for Texas House, Congress

Now there are maps.

Federal judges in San Antonio unveiled maps for the state's congressional delegation and for the state House this afternoon, and they did it in time to allow the state to hold its delayed political primaries on May 29. The court also signed off on Senate plans agreed to earlier this month.

(snip)

Barring appeals, these maps will be used for the 2012 elections. Below are the new maps. We'll fill in details throughout the afternoon.

The Trib has much clearer quick view maps to get a perspective on the Congressional districts.

[Gothmog]

5. These maps are horrible

From what I have seen, these maps are horrible. I am still hoping that the DOJ will refuse to preclear these maps. These are the maps of the State of Texas and so need to be pre-cleared by the DOJ

[sonias]

6. I'll hope with you

Really these maps stink.

Lone Star Project's take on them

Lone Star Project
February 28, 2012
[phone] - Fax [phone]
Contact: Matt Angle


Court Releases Interim Redistricting Plans
Plan includes new North Texas minority opportunity congressional district, does not include Travis County-based district

Earlier today, the Federal District Court in San Antonio released the interim maps to be used for the 2012 elections in Texas. The court’s congressional map (Plan C235) appears to be nearly identical to a compromise plan agreed to by the Latino Task Force and Texas Republicans.

The interim plan is a victory for African American and Hispanic voters in North Texas. New District 33 is a coalition district that includes the core African American and Hispanic neighborhoods in Tarrant County and then extends east into Dallas County to include Hispanic neighborhoods in Oak Cliff and parts of Grand Prairie and Irving. The turnout in Democratic primaries favors Tarrant County. The new congressional district includes most of the State House District of Representative Marc Veasey. Veasey is expected to run for the seat and should be considered the early favorite.

Outside of North Texas, the interim plan does not reflect the population growth of Hispanics and African Americans in Texas.

While new District 35 is created and extends from Austin to San Antonio, it is offset by the dismantling of Travis County-based District 25 which is converted from a minority crossover district to a safe Anglo Republican District.

New District 34 based in Cameron County is offset by the loss of District 27 from a Latino opportunity district to a Anglo Republican-controlled District.

The Latino voting strength in San Antonio/West Texas District 23 is also reduced. However Democrats are fielding a very strong candidate in State Representative Pete Gallego, so he can likely win disproportionate support from some Anglo voters and defeat Republican incumbent Francisco Canseco.

Most of the plaintiff groups who challenged the Republican congressional plan hoped for a better interim map. These hopes were undermined, however, when Congressman Henry Cuellar and one of the Latino plaintiff groups – the Latino Task Force – agreed to a compromise proposal that gave up at least three, and perhaps all four, of the additional Texas seats to the Republicans.

Next month, the Federal District Court in Washington, DC is expected to release its decision detailing all of the violations in the State’s originally enacted redistricting plan. Ultimately, the DC Court’s decision will guide the redrawing of new maps when the Legislature meets again in 2013.

Here is a breakdown of the Districts under the Court’s plan where minority voters can elect their candidate of choice:

CD 9 – Al Green , Houston – African American Opportunity District
CD15 – Ruben Hinojosa, Hidalgo County – Hispanic Opportunity District
CD16 – Silvestre Reyes, El Paso – Hispanic Opportunity District
CD18 – Sheila Jackson Lee, Houston – African American Opportunity District
CD20 – Charlie Gonzalez, San Antonio – Hispanic Opportunity District
CD23 – Francisco Canseco, San Antonio/West Texas – Marginalized Hispanic Opportunity District*
CD28 – Henry Cuellar, Laredo – Hispanic Opportunity District
CD29 – Gene Green, Houston – Hispanic Opportunity District
CD30 – Eddie Bernice Johnson, Dallas – African American Opportunity District
CD33 – New Open, Fort Worth/Dallas – Minority Coalition District
CD34 – New Open, Cameron County – Hispanic Opportunity District
CD35 – New Open, Austin/San Antonio – Hispanic Opportunity District

*The Court’s interim plan reduces the Latino voting strength in CD23 below the level of the benchmark plan, but strong Democratic candidate Pete Gallego should be able to claim the district against Republican Francisco Canseco.

Comments by Lone Star Project Director Matt Angle:

The court’s map is good news for North Texas, especially Fort Worth. Tarrant County minority voters will finally have a chance to elect a responsible representative to Congress in new District 33.

The plan is not particularly good news for minority voters outside of North Texas. Minority voters in Austin, Corpus Christi and in San Antonio lost ground.

New District 33 in North Texas is the only real new minority opportunity district. Everywhere else in the State, the new minority districts simply replace existing districts where minority voters elect their candidate of choice.

[susanr516]

8. Agreed, horrible.

I'm in Nueces County. The DOJ specifically mentioned CD 27 as cracking majority Hispanic Nueces County away from the RGV and stranding 200,000 minority voters in a district that removed their ability to elect the Congressman of their choice--and the interim map puts us right back into a very similar district--combined minority VAP of 50.4%. Not a snowball's chance in Hades of electing a minority choice candidate.

Same thing in the House. The DOJ specifically mentioned the removal of HD 33 from Nueces County as demonstrating a pattern and intent to discriminate against Hispanics--a Hispanic Republican won a majority Hispanic district in 2010--the Lege leaves both the Anglo reps and removes the seat held by the Hispanic. Every map since then has included HD 33 in it--until today. Poof! HD 33 is gone.

Seems like any Hispanic living south of I-10 is screwed--again.

[syberlion]

7. Comment I posted to AAS article

It would be a nice change if redistricting was taken out of the hands of both parties. Base it on just the numbers, population distribution, period. Each party is so afraid of losing power, not afraid of properly representing the people of a particular region.

It's a game to the career politicians and those whose money buying into the "game" of politics. As long as the money is leading the politicians by the nose, we all lose. It's about holding power and it should be about proper representation, period. Get the money out.

I contend the average Texan across the whole state is not represented, but the monied interests are. All this gerrymandering is for the benefit of those not wanting the average Texan to have a voice in this government. Fine.

Keep voting against your own best interests and when you find yourself as one of millions of cancer-clusters, just remember to die quickly on the republican health care plan.

[Gothmog]

10. California's approach is interesting

California took redistricting away from the legislature and the results appear to be better maps

[sonias]

14. I would love to see a more non partisan committee take this up

There have been repeated attempts to introduce a bill for a redistricting committee (State Senator Jeff Wentworth). But they never went anywhere. The Lege is all about reelecting themselves. They would never trust anyone else to make that decision. And never mind that any committee formed in this current climate would still be 99.9% republican.

[sonias]

11. Nice comment

Good for you!

[Gothmog]

9. Maps are subject to Section 5 preclearance

I was happy to see that my gut reaction was correct and these maps are indeed subject to preclearance by the DOJ and/or the courts http://txredistricting.org/post/18488718643/q-a-on-the-new-interim-maps

Do the new interim maps need to be precleared under section 5 of the Voting Rights Act?

Yes. Since the maps reflect state policy choices, they will need to be submitted for review either to the Justice Department or to the three-judge panel in Washington that tried the preclearance case.

Tim Mellett of the Justice Department said at hearings two weeks ago that DOJ is prepared to examine the maps under its expedited review process and that the process could be concluded in time for a May 29 primary.

The assumption of most observers is that the state will submit the maps to DOJ rather than the three-judge panel in Washington. However, the decision ultimately will be Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott’s call.

Regardless, expect candidate filing and election preparations to go forward, pending preclearance.

Of course, we could be back in court if, for some reason, DOJ - or the DC court - denies preclearance

I am hoping that the Democratic party will oppose the preclearance of these maps. I will be happy to miss the May 29 primary date in order to get good maps.

[sonias]

12. Me too - pass on the May 29th date

Lets get better maps. I am concerned however that DOJ will just pre-clear them.

[sonias]

13. Parties tell D.C. court ruling is needed to correct interim maps

Texas Redistricting blog 2/289/12

Parties tell D.C. court ruling is needed to correct interim maps

Intervenors in the preclearance case told the D.C. court this morning that the interim maps adopted by the San Antonio court “perpetuate[ed] many of the Section 5 violations identified” in the D.C. case and said the those defects “heighten[ed] the need for a ruling by this Court that denies preclearance” of both the congressional and state house maps.

They told the court that such a ruling would allow the San Antonio court to put in place “a more comprehensive remedy for violation of the voting rights of blacks and Hispanics throughout the state.”

The advisory was signed on behalf of the Texas Legislative Black Caucus, NAACP, LULAC, the Davis intervenors, and the Gonzales (Travis County) intervenors.

Way to go intervenors! I hope that means a legal challenge to even this latest map.

[Gothmog]

15. Intervenors in D.C. case respond to Latino Task Force

The Latino Task Force has sold out other latino groups and the Democratic Party. The Intervenors in D.C. case filed a good advisory today taking issue with the claims of the latino task force and pointing out how the interim maps screw minorities http://txredistricting.org/post/18582191838/intervenors-in-d-c-case-respond-to-latino-task-force

This afternoon, the NAACP, LULAC, Texas Legislative Black Caucus, State Sen. Wendy Davis, and Travis Co. intervenors told the D.C. court that the Texas Latino Redistricting Task Force’s description of its compromise with the State of Texas was “erroneous.”

On CD-25 in Central Texas, they said the evidence presented at the D.C. trial refuted statements by the Task Force that Anglos in CD-25 dominated the Democratic primary, arguing that Hispanics in CD-25 backed the winner of the Democratic primary in 32 of 43 Travis County races while African-Americans backed 31 of 43 winners (the same percentage as Anglos). ....

The intervenors told the court that that, in fact: “Black voters in Dallas and Tarrant Counties will be worse off under the [compromise] plan than under the baseline map used in the last four Texas elections. Under the old map, natural population movements were improving the opportunity for Blacks to influence election outcomes in CDs 6 and 24, but the compromise plan effectively denies any such growth opportunities for the next ten years.”

Abbott was able to get one group of plaintiffs to go along with the intentional discrimination by making changes that hurts blacks but helps one hispanic congresscritter. It is sad to think that Abbott is going to win by dividing the plaintiffs and the San Antonio court did not stand up to this crap.

Hopefully the DC court will step in and corrrect this mess

[sonias]

16. Who is in the Latino Task Force?

The only group I can think of that is not mentioned in the Intervenors is MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund).

[onestepforward]

17. An email from LULAC this evening

"Despite clear and convincing evidence and testimony by numerous expert witnesses over many months; the court drawn maps released yesterday do not go far enough to protect the voting rights of the three million Latinos living in Texas,” said LULAC National President Margaret Moran. “It’s clear that the intent of the Legislature was to disenfranchise Latino voters across the state by denying us the opportunity to elect the candidates of our choice. Because of the Voting Rights Act, we were able to intervene and fight for fair representation.”

The U.S. 2010 Census made it clear that the demographic population shift in Texas was a direct result of the over 80 percent minority growth with the overwhelming majority being Latinos. The Texas Legislature used racial bias and discriminatory practices in drawing the original redistricting maps. While the interim map does provide for two new majority-minority districts in Texas, certain aspects of the map compromise key majority-minority districts in the state. With the creation of Congressional District 35, the Latino community was provided with an opportunity to elect a candidate of our choice. However, the interim maps continue to divide communities across the Southside of Bexar County into four (4) congressional districts, and Travis County is divided into five (5) congressional districts.

“Obviously the interim maps need more work! We hope that the D.C. Court will deny Texas preclearance,” stated Ms. Moran. “LULAC will continue to fight for a redistricting map that fully reflects the growth of the Texas Latino population.”

Section Five of the Voting Rights Act requires that legislative-drawn maps be pre-cleared by the Department of Justice before they are put into effect. The interim state maps must still be pre-cleared, before they can go into effect and be used in the 2012 election."