Texas Senate Passes Redistricting Maps Amid Boycott by House Democrats

The Texas senate passed new redistricting maps on Tuesday despite a walkout by Democratic lawmakers, but the proposed boundaries cannot move forward until the Texas house has enough members present to establish a quorum.Senate Democrats staged the walkout shortly before the Republican-controlled chamber took up the maps of the state’s congressional districts. While the action was largely symbolic, Senate Republicans maintained the numbers needed to vote on and pass the measure by a vote of 19-2, with nine senators absent. However, the legislation cannot be advanced to the desk of Governor Greg Abbott as the Texas house lacks the quorum required to proceed, with many house Democrats having fled the state to prevent a vote on the issue.“The Texas senate will continue passing this map each legislative session to accurately reflect our state until house Democrats return from their ‘vacation’ and get back to work for the people of Texas,” Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick said.The Democratic lawmakers’ absence in the house extends a standoff as they remain out of state to protest the Republican-led efforts to redraw voting maps. The house on Tuesday adjourned after no quorum was reached, prompting Mr. Abbott to announce that he will immediately call a new special session if Democrats fail to return to the capitol by the end of the week.“There will be no reprieve for the derelict Democrats who fled the state and abandoned their duty to the people who elected them,” Mr. Abbott said. “I will continue to call special session after special session until we get this Texas-first agenda passed.”Mr. Abbott noted that the second special session would mirror the agenda of the current one but could also include additional priorities “critical” to Texans. “If they think all they have to do is wait it out until November or December, they’re wrong. I’m gonna do this for the next two years!” Mr. Abbott said in a statement.The standoff in Texas has prompted other states to begin their own redistricting plans. Governor Kathy Hochul of New York, a Democrat, has threatened to conduct redistricting in retaliation for the move in Texas. Meanwhile, Governor Gavin Newsom of California on Monday sent a letter to President Trump threatening to conduct a mid-decade redistricting of his own via a new ballot measure. “The attempt to rig congressional maps to hold onto power before a single vote is cast in the 2026 election is an affront to American democracy. This is not what the Founders envisioned, and California cannot stand idly by as this power grab unfolds,” Mr. Newsom wrote. “If you will not stand down, I will be forced to lead an effort to redraw the maps in California to offset the rigging of maps in red states.”Under Mr. Newsom’s plan, California would hold a special election in November, in which voters would decide on a constitutional ballot measure to redraw the map. California already has a heavily gerrymandered congressional map that last cycle led to the election of 43 Democrats and just nine Republican members in the U.S. House, though Mr. Trump received more than 38 percent of the vote in 2024.Yet Mr. Abbott said many blue states are already so heavily gerrymandered in favor of Democrats that little can be done to add to their majority. “Look at the map of Illinois, look at the map of California, New York, and Massachusetts, and so many other blue states. They gerrymandered a long time ago. They got nothing left with regard to what they can do,” the Texas governor said on CNN.

Texas Senate Passes Redistricting Maps Amid Boycott by House Democrats

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