There’s a growing rift between voting rights advocates, those negatively impacted by Texas’ new redistricting maps, and the lawmakers who chose to gerrymander in the first place. For one, a former Democratic state representative deemed the least liberal by Rice University political scientist Mark Jones has jumped parties. Rep. Ryan Guillen announced that he is now a Republican earlier this week alongside Gov. Greg Abbott and House Speaker Dade Phelan.
“Friends,” Guillen began in his announcement, “something is happening in South Texas, and many of us are waking up to the fact that the values of those in Washington, D.C., are not our values, not the values of most Texans. The ideology of defunding the police, of destroying the oil and gas industry, and the chaos at our border is disastrous for those of us who live here in South Texas.”
Guillen, who lives in Rio Grande City and represents the 31st District, stands to benefit from a party change given how his district now looks thanks to the new redistricting maps. The latest version of the 31st District boosts the number of white voters by 10% and reduces the number of Hispanic voters by 10%. It also shows Donald Trump winning by nearly double the percentage points had the new district been in place during the 2020 presidential election.
The disparity between voters of color and the white Republicans desperate to amass power can be felt even at the county level. Last week, Galveston County commissioners approved a redistricting map that Houston Public Media notes will likely cost the lone Black commissioner her seat. Precinct 3 Commissioner Stephen Holmes, who is also the only Democratic member of the court, was the only person opposed to the redistricting map. It passed with a 3-1 vote.
According to the U.S. census, Galveston County is 13.2% Black and 25.4% Hispanic. Aside from Holmes, there are no other people of color who serve on the commissioners’ court. Redistricting only further denies people of color representation at the county level. Holmes flat-out called the approved map “discriminatory” and promised to fight its adoption “until justice is done.”
Residents of color reaffirmed Holmes’ assessment during a meeting last Friday in which the commissioners weighed two redistricting maps that put gerrymandering front and center. “I’m neither Democrat nor Republican. What I do know, as a woman born in the south and raised in the south, is that this map—both of them—are racist, and you know it,” resident Hannah Melcer said.
The white GOP commissioners showed exactly who they are in approving a map that hurts their constituents. They’ve already made it clear the people they serve are their last priority, having recently earmarked $6.6 million of the federal COVID-19 relief funds they received to be used for a border wall. Holmes has the backing of Galveston County citizens and likely could receive further support from advocacy groups, many of whom have filed lawsuits at the gubernatorial level over similarly discriminatory redistricting maps.
The latest lawsuit to hit the desks of Abbott and Secretary of State John Scott comes from Fair Maps Texas, which bills itself as a “nonpartisan reform effort aimed at fixing the broken redistricting system in Texas.” The group is joined by other civil rights groups like the ACLU of Texas, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, and the Southern Coalition for Social Justice.
The suit correctly points to the 2013 Supreme Court decision to remove federal preclearance for states and regions with histories of discriminating against voters of color from the 1965 Voting Rights Act as a major factor in how such gerrymandered maps were able to pass in the first place. Lawmakers worked tirelessly to prevent community engagement, sped through and denied amendments meant to protect voters of color, and hastily approved congressional maps that were swiftly signed by Abbott less than two weeks later.
“From the very start of this legislative process, we worked to bring diverse people together so that all marginalized communities receive fair representation,” Fair Maps Texas Action Committee organization partners said in a joint statement. “Despite our best efforts to advocate for a fair and open redistricting process, the politicians in charge chose to shut the public out to force through blatantly gerrymandered maps. Now, we will take action together to challenge these unlawful maps because our democracy is threatened.”
“Friends,” Guillen began in his announcement, “something is happening in South Texas, and many of us are waking up to the fact that the values of those in Washington, D.C., are not our values, not the values of most Texans. The ideology of defunding the police, of destroying the oil and gas industry, and the chaos at our border is disastrous for those of us who live here in South Texas.”
Guillen, who lives in Rio Grande City and represents the 31st District, stands to benefit from a party change given how his district now looks thanks to the new redistricting maps. The latest version of the 31st District boosts the number of white voters by 10% and reduces the number of Hispanic voters by 10%. It also shows Donald Trump winning by nearly double the percentage points had the new district been in place during the 2020 presidential election.
The disparity between voters of color and the white Republicans desperate to amass power can be felt even at the county level. Last week, Galveston County commissioners approved a redistricting map that Houston Public Media notes will likely cost the lone Black commissioner her seat. Precinct 3 Commissioner Stephen Holmes, who is also the only Democratic member of the court, was the only person opposed to the redistricting map. It passed with a 3-1 vote.
According to the U.S. census, Galveston County is 13.2% Black and 25.4% Hispanic. Aside from Holmes, there are no other people of color who serve on the commissioners’ court. Redistricting only further denies people of color representation at the county level. Holmes flat-out called the approved map “discriminatory” and promised to fight its adoption “until justice is done.”
Residents of color reaffirmed Holmes’ assessment during a meeting last Friday in which the commissioners weighed two redistricting maps that put gerrymandering front and center. “I’m neither Democrat nor Republican. What I do know, as a woman born in the south and raised in the south, is that this map—both of them—are racist, and you know it,” resident Hannah Melcer said.
The white GOP commissioners showed exactly who they are in approving a map that hurts their constituents. They’ve already made it clear the people they serve are their last priority, having recently earmarked $6.6 million of the federal COVID-19 relief funds they received to be used for a border wall. Holmes has the backing of Galveston County citizens and likely could receive further support from advocacy groups, many of whom have filed lawsuits at the gubernatorial level over similarly discriminatory redistricting maps.
The latest lawsuit to hit the desks of Abbott and Secretary of State John Scott comes from Fair Maps Texas, which bills itself as a “nonpartisan reform effort aimed at fixing the broken redistricting system in Texas.” The group is joined by other civil rights groups like the ACLU of Texas, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, and the Southern Coalition for Social Justice.
The suit correctly points to the 2013 Supreme Court decision to remove federal preclearance for states and regions with histories of discriminating against voters of color from the 1965 Voting Rights Act as a major factor in how such gerrymandered maps were able to pass in the first place. Lawmakers worked tirelessly to prevent community engagement, sped through and denied amendments meant to protect voters of color, and hastily approved congressional maps that were swiftly signed by Abbott less than two weeks later.
“From the very start of this legislative process, we worked to bring diverse people together so that all marginalized communities receive fair representation,” Fair Maps Texas Action Committee organization partners said in a joint statement. “Despite our best efforts to advocate for a fair and open redistricting process, the politicians in charge chose to shut the public out to force through blatantly gerrymandered maps. Now, we will take action together to challenge these unlawful maps because our democracy is threatened.”