Republicans redraw Texas congressional districts to cut voting power of growing Asian, Latino population

After census figures revealed growth in population among communities of color in Texas, Republican lawmakers are working to graft Hispanic and Asian communities into districts in which white residents make up the majority of eligible voters.

Redrawing political boundaries: Texas Republicans are redrawing the state’s congressional districts in proposed maps for the Dallas-Fort Worth region, which has been cleared by the Senate and are waiting on a vote in the House, according to an analysis from The Texas Tribune.

The proposed changes to the 33rd and 6th congressional districts reduce the influence Hispanic voters have over who their representatives will be in Congress.
Neighborhoods densely populated by Asian Texans, which have been among the fastest-growing racial/ethnic groups in recent years, are also being transformed by map-drawers.
They had a significant contribution to the population gains in Collin County, which is currently within the 3rd Congressional District and represented by Republican U.S. Rep. Van Taylor.
Taylor’s predecessor won after the suburban district voted heavily for the GOP in 2012 and 2014. But the margin of victory narrowed in recent years as Taylor won reelection by only 55% of the vote, while Trump won by just one percentage point.
Republicans are now pushing for a complete redistricting of neighborhoods densely populated by potential Asian voters.

Divide and conquer: The proposed 4th Congressional District would split dense Asian neighborhoods of Collin County into a district where white voters would control elections.

Under the Republicans’ proposed map, a majority of Asian residents would live in the new 4th Congressional district, where the Asian population saw growth from about 15,000 to nearly 103,000.
Like Hispanic voters, the influence of Asian voters will decrease by half in a district where white residents will make up 73.9% of eligible voters.
Asian eligible voters in the current 3rd Congressional District jumped to 10.8%, while the new maps would slash that in half to 5.6%.

Featured Image via Getty

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