Staff Report
SAN MARCOS — On Tuesday, Oct. 28, the Hays County Commissioners Court accepted changes to election precincts, resulting from redistricting maps approved in the Texas 89th Legislative 2nd Special Session.
The Texas Legislature passed new mid-decade redistricting maps during the 2nd Called Special Session in August. Hays County Elections and Hays County GIS Services have been working to implement these changes, while also making recommendations to comply with Texas Election Code Sections 42.031, 42.005, 42.006 and 42.007, which define the requirements for maintaining election precincts, according to Hays County Election Administrator Jennifer Doinoff.
“What we’re doing is not redistricting; we’re ensuring our precincts comply with the National Voter Registration Act. With the changes enacted into law, we still have to remain in compliance,” Doinoff said. “What we’re doing is meeting our statutory compliance in the election code.”
The elections office proposed 88 voting precincts, or Voting Tabulation Districts (VTDs), adding three and removing seven. A handful of "minor" boundary changes were made.
“We aim to avoid creating new VTDs unless it’s necessary,” she said, adding that District of Concern (DOC) boundaries are the primary constraints on VTD shapes. “By law, VTDs cannot cross DOC borders.”
A DOC, Doinoff explained, refers to voting districts that draw significant public attention, due to allegations of voter disenfranchisement, redistricting practices or election integrity issues.
A secondary constraint on VTDs is the voting population, she noted.
“Each district must fall between 100 and 5,000 active voters, unless adhering to these limits would run afoul of a DOC boundary,” Doinoff said. “We aim to keep districts small — usually under 3,500 [voters] — so that VTDs have some resiliency to grow between redistricting sessions.”
The changes will not take effect until after the December runoff election.
Following the court’s approval, the county will work to produce detailed maps of the district changes, which will be available to the public.
