Democrats seeking office this November are looking to draw the line on how Texas shapes its electoral boundaries.
Gerrymandering, the practice of drawing electoral boundaries that favor a particular audience of voters, has made its way to the United States Supreme Court.
“Texas has done this since Jim Crow to keep people from voting. It’s particularly egregious how these lines are drawn. It’s clear just by looking at a map how these congressional districts are split to favor Republican voters.”
–Julie Oliver, Democratic candidate for U.S. Congress,
Dist. 25
In January, the United States Supreme Court dismissed a case by Texas Democrats and other plaintiffs in their fight against gerrymandering in the state; those district lines were set in 2011.
Every 10 years, when the new population census is released, the Texas Legislature redraws district lines for both state representative and for U.S. Congress, with district population depending on growth.
Repubilcans currently hold a 95-to-55 seat advantage in the Texas House of Representatives.
Julie Oliver, the Democratic candidate for U.S. Congressional District 25, said there is a constant battle for Democrats to win in Central Texas, an area where district lines tend to favor Republican voters.
Oliver’s district stretches from Wimberley to Burleson, including parts of Austin. Currently, there are five congressional districts that spread between Travis County and outward to rural areas.
Other congressional districts that are equally stretched out is CD-21, currently held by incumbent Lamar Smith, which stretches from east Hays County, south to San Antonio and as far west as Kerrville.
“Texas has done this since Jim Crow to keep people from voting,” Oliver said. “It’s particularly egregious how these lines are drawn. It’s clear just by looking at a map how these congressional districts are split to favor Republican voters.”
Oliver said gerrymandering suppresses representation of voters because it leaves citizents not wanting to vote because they believe their vote won’t count.
According to a Texas Tribune report, 72 percent of candidates who ran for state legislative office in the 2016 general election faced either no opposition or won by more than 45 percent of the vote.
Donna Haschke, county chair for the Hays County Democratic Party, said Texas’ lack of a competitive two-party system leaves voters not wanting to go to polls.
A solution to the issue could be a two-party system that helps ensure district lines are made in good faith.
Oliver said is she a proponent of a nonpartisan committee of both Democrats and Republicans to ensure lines are drawn constitutionally. Judicial oversight would be included in the nonpartisan committee system.
“It’s hard to win elections in this area. Travis County is cut up and all those districts head to very conservative areas, “ Haschke said. “The lines are cherry-picked. It’s disappointing that these practices exist and completely shreds the constitution and the notion of one person one vote.”
Other states affected by gerrymandering include West Virginia, Illinois and Maryland.
As of March, the U.S. Supreme Court is still hearing arguments in the gerrymandering case. The court has heard oral arguments regarding both Republican and Democratic gerrymandered districts throughout the country.
The Hays Free Press contacted the Hays County Republican Party for comment, but did not receive a response prior to press time.
