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The Senate Special Committee on Redistricting met on January 27th to discuss the matter of redistricting in the North and Central Texas area. The Committee received invited and public testimony. A video of the hearing can be found here.

 

The HillCo report below is a summary of remarks intended to give you an overview and highlight of the discussions on the various topics discussed. This report is not a verbatim transcript; it is based upon what was audible or understandable to the observer and the desire to get details out as quickly as possible with few errors or omissions.

 

Presentation

Dr. Potter, Texas Demographic Center

  • The Census Bureau is running behind on delivering apportionment and redistricting data
  • Apportionment file to be received before April 30 and redistricting data file to be received by the Governor at an unspecified date; not before July 30
  • PL 94-171 to be released to the states at a pace of 8 states per week
  • PL 94-171 file includes data regarding race, age, occupancy status, and group quarters by type
  • Uses Census Bureau estimates and TDC data projections for presentation
  • Texas has grown more than any other state; estimates an increase of 16.8% since 2010, a 4.2 million population increase
  • If the population data is true, Texas will receive approximately 2-3 Congressional seats
  • The Texas Senate District size has grown by roughly 10,000 people and the House has grown by roughly 7,000 people since 2010
  • The most growth has been in the Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Rio Grande Valley, and Austin areas
  • The largest decline in population exists in the panhandle area
  • Suburban area growth has split the proposed census tract; uses DFW area in example
  • Tremendous Hispanic population growth accounts for over 50% of the growth over the last ten years; the Asian population has grown dramatically as well

 

Public Testimony

Robert Appel

  • Beyond Administrative goal of creating equity, redistricting should serve interests of Texans rather than winning re-election or political purposes
  • Congressional District 5 goes from the city all the to ranchers in southeast Texas, which means that the interests don’t serve one another
  • Asks why people separated by disconnected people within their own district
  • Proposes that partisan gerrymandering is corrupt and should be illegal
  • Proposes new rules to be put in place such as limiting the data on preferences to map makers so that redistricting has no chance to become political

 

Annett Jackson Ford

  • Simply here to educate herself

 

Dillion Vialone, MOVE Texas

  • Lives in downtown San Antonio in HD-35
  • Partisan manipulation hurts young voters, calls for nonpartisan and racially equitable in the process of map making
  • Reminds committee that the Hispanic population will become the majority population
  • Says the districts were designed to hurt the minority vote
  • Calls for a change of direction in redistricting to be more inclusive and democratic

 

Christina Samuel, MOVE Texas

  • Texas is one of the hardest states to vote in
  • Texas has strictest criteria to vote and no transparency to lower barriers to vote
  • CD-23 expands all the way to West Texas and it hurts citizens of the greater San Antonio area
  • CD-35 makes the district noncompetitive and is designed to hurt young and minority voters
  • Many voters are left in the dark without transparency
  • Give people the vote outcome that is competitive and not partisan

 

Thomas Ledesma, MOVE Texas

  • Has just become interested in Texas politics
  • Has multiple friends who attend UT and is upset that different apartment units are split into separate districts
  • This creates uninformed voters
  • Don’t divide communities, it creates too much confusion

 

Travis Hair, Self

  • District 2 has grown 97% over the last ten years
  • Residence is being put in a district with Bonham and Bonham hasn’t grown nearly at all
  • The needs are different than the needs of Bonham
  • The needs of the people need to be put above your party
  • Put district in more suburban areas where its needs will be best met

 

Yvonne Skasko, Self

  • East Dallas in District 5
  • Placement with rural areas has diluted her representation and values
  • Believes her community holds little in common with those put in her district as a result of map manipulation
  • Minorities have been minimized by gerrymandering
  • Uncompetitive “safe” districts drive the divide in our politics
  • Gerrymandering only creates a more toxic political environment, because it allows people to appeal to the most extreme parts of their party

 

Sandra O’Leary , Self

  • Lives In far north Dallas
  • Our districts do not look like the democracy my ancestors fought for in the Revolutionary War
  • Mentions that the hearing being called late last week is a disgrace
  • Requests that the process be transparent and available to the public

 

Liz Franklin, Self

  • 10th Congressional District in Austin
  • Redistricting needs to be in compliance with the Voting Rights Act
  • A process open to the public restores much needed trust in our institutions
  • Lawsuits from gerrymandering cost a lot of taxpayer money considering the pandemic

 

Dave Jones, Clean Elections Dallas President

  • Hopes for meaningful and timely disclosure on hearings so that the best interest of the public is first
  • We need to improve on the result of litigation from the last census
  • Redrawing the districts should reflect our demographic changes
  • The court found that race was used as a proxy in the DFW area in 2010 redistricting in order to intentionally discriminate
  • The court decided that Texas must conduct its process in the accordance with the 14th amendment

 

Liz Wally, Self

  • Lives in HD-108 in Dallas and repeats what others have mentioned
  • Houses on the same street are often put into another district for partisan reasons
  • The hearings should take place after the census data has been sent over
  • Testimonies should be welcomed throughout the whole session and any special sessions
  • Maps must be made at least 14 days in advance of hearings, because the public needs time to advocate for or against proposals

 

Melinda Fagin, Self

  • Everything she does is in the neighboring district
  • Feels disenfranchised
  • In CD-5 but should be in CD-32
  • Voices need to be heard, because democracy depends on it

 

Joan Ridley, Self

  • Texas SD-23
  • Governing regarding redistricting is partisan on both sides of the aisle
  • Taxpayer’s money is wasted on defending indefensible maps, because it has cost us millions of dollars
  • This also leads to bills passed that aren’t representative of the constituents of Texas
  • This also leads to special interests and focus is put on staying in office
  • Non-legislators should have a committee to make the districts

 

David Ritter, Self

  • Plano HD-67
  • Likes Rep. Leach, but believes there is not enough access to our representatives
  • Districts entrench those in power
  • Need to have more legislators
  • We have had the same number since 1921, this will provide more access to our representatives

 

Michelle Angus, Self

  • Gainesville, Texas and is speaking on behalf of the county Democrat party
  • HD-68 and SD-30 had special elections that were conducted within a couple of weeks and forced voters to vote blind
  • The vastness of her district is combative to running an effective campaign
  • Rural areas are incorporated into urban areas to ensure it remains a certain way
  • Would like to appoint a nonpartisan citizen advisory board to redraw districts

 

Amber Mills, MOVE Texas

  • Maps are manipulated for personal gain as seen in HD 90, which the Supreme Court found to be racially gerrymandered
  • Texas is becoming more diverse and needs to be fair and transparent to young people and minorities
  • We need an open process
  • Lives in Travis county 12 minutes from the capitol and has to go through 3 districts in route

 

Andrea Flores, MOVE Texas

  • Politicians are choosing their voters not the other way around due to gerrymandering
  • Map manipulation prevents citizens from having their needs met
  • Explanation is needed for drawing the maps the way they are drawn
  • Years of lawsuits are not a viable option

 

Alan de Leon, MOVE Texas

  • Our capitol was attacked by insurrectionists and our current crisis calls for a solution to create more trust in our institutions
  • Believes gerrymandering is combative to unifying our state and country
  • Calls for an end to gerrymandering that this state is known for
  • Racial discrimination needs to be addressed in redrawing the districts

 

Christian Giadolor, Rockwall County Young Democrats

  • Rockwall county is fast growing and very diverse
  • US HD-4 groups Rockwall county with communities hours away promotes representatives with misaligned values
  • Promotes districts that are compact
  • County suffers from broadband access, minority education, and increasing traffic
  • Shaped like a hook and are grouped with communities literally hours away
  • The values and priorities of our representatives is not representative
  • Calls for a local level redistricting effort

 

Anita Nunez, Mi Familia Vota

  • Draw districts in the best interest of the people not yourself
  • Works in Dallas prioritizing voter education, registration, and participation
  • Wants redistricting to be fair to the Latin X population

 

Michael McPhail, Self

  • Senate District 9 in the DFW area was in dispute last time and was present for the litigation in 2014
  • Wants to make sure we don’t go down the same legal dispute route

 

Emily Hoffman, Self

  • From Richardson, Texas
  • Our city has two different representatives for everything and we can’t unite on particular issues such as healthcare and affordable housing
  • Wants to be educated on the process and have access to explanations involving the methodology
  • Calls for redistricting process to be open to the public
  • Wants to follow legal precedent so that Texas doesn’t end up in the courts again

 

Alice Gruber, Self

  • Cook county (HD-68) is shamefully gerrymandered
  • Her district is an indescribable shape
  • It would make more sense to keep the panhandle areas with each other because they are more alike

 

Pat Leadbetter, Self

  • Ran as a democrat in a rural area (HD-68) but there was no competition and issues were ignored
  • Constituents are ignored with gerrymandering
  • The divide has become rural vs urban
  • It’s easier to tear the other side down because of gerrymandering
  • The contest outcome is determined by which candidate hates the other party the most

 

Steve Starnes, Cook County Judge

  • Counties need to be redistricted so rural areas are with other rural areas

 

Sarah Lassberg, Self

  • From Plano, Texas; need equitable redistricting as mentioned throughout this hearing
  • We need to abide by the Voting Rights Act
  • Highlights that the technical problems seen today need to be addressed by internet access initiatives in Congress
  • Has to pass through 3 districts just to get to the other side of her district (HD-33)
  • US HD-4 is designed in. a similar fashion

 

Amanda Reed, Self

  • House District 33 wraps around Collin county and is a ridiculous shape; calls for transparency and bipartisanship
  • Advocates for geographically compact districts so we have access to our representatives, and they have access to us

 

Chris Jackson, Self (PRPC)

  • Resident of HD-86, SD-31, and US HD-13
  • Gerrymandering is contrary to equitable representation; the disadvantaged have been left behind when it comes to redistricting
  • We need a separate independent commission to make/draw the districts