Blogs: Redistricting/Census

The Texas Legislature is about to embark on the 2021 Redistricting Cycle, and both the House and Senate Redistricting Committees have scheduled virtual public input hearings that will take place over the next two weeks.  

Public comments at the Committee hearings will be used to assist the Legislature when it draws district boundaries. Speaking up about your community is critical to ensuring district lines are drawn to keep your community whole and grouped with nearby communities with similar interests. This ensures that your voice is heard by your elected leaders across all kinds of government decisions.

With the release of the 2020 Census data, communities now have the ability to see where population and demographic changes have occurred over the past decade.  If you live in a community that has become more diverse, please consider describing this growth in your testimony.  Legislators will be required to take these demographic changes into consideration in order to draw districts that comply with the Voting Rights Act.  

There are several resources available to help you visualize the 2020 Census data:

• The Texas Demographic Center created interactive tools to help data users analyze the newly-released 2020 P.L. 94-171 Redistricting Data.

• You can also visualize the 2020 Census data using DistrictR, a districting software from the Metric Geometry and Gerrymandering Group.  You can also draw district maps, draw community of interest maps, and submit testimony directly to the Legislature through this website.

Upcoming  Hearings

House Redistricting Committee Hearings  

• Hearing Notices

• Register to Provide Testimony Virtually

• Note that registration for the hearings will close 48 hours prior to the start time of the hearing. 

Senate Redistricting Committee Hearings

• Hearing Notices

• Register to Provide Testimony Virtually

• Note that registration for the hearings will remain open until the hearing concludes.

Testimony guide: Here

You can also find very important procedural recommendations in the Fair and Open Campaign, developed by the Fair Maps Texas Coalition.  These procedural recommendations were developed in light of the problems that we saw in the 2011 and 2013 round of redistricting.  We must let the Legislature know that we demand a Fair and Open process, just like a federal judge has called for.