It started with Texas , and Republicans looking to game US House seats to keep a Republican majority and box out ANY chance of a Democratic Presidential win in the Electoral College vote come December 2028….
Now?
Democrats ARE getting ready to neutralise any effort by Texas or other Red states in redistricting…
The Texas quorum stuff has been going on since 1870 actually….
“Texas Democratic lawmakers fled the state Sunday in a bid to block passage of a new congressional map designed to give the GOP five additional seats in the U.S. House next year, raising the stakes in what’s poised to be a national fight over redistricting ahead of next year’s midterm election,” the Texas Tribune reports.
“The maneuver, undertaken by most of the Texas House’s 62 Democrats, deprives the Republican-controlled chamber of a quorum — the number of lawmakers needed to function under House rules — ahead of a scheduled Monday vote on the draft map.”
“The 150-member House can only conduct business if at least 100 members are present, meaning the absence of 51 or more Democrats can bring the Legislature’s ongoing special session to a halt.”
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“Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) is threatening to try to remove Democratic lawmakers from office for fleeing the state and claiming they could be charged with crimes, escalating tensions overnight in a showdown over redrawing congressional lines ahead of the midterm elections,” the Washington Post reports.
“Democrats said Abbott’s warnings were bluster and announced they were committed to staying away for two weeks, when the 30-day special session is expected to end.”
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Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) said that the state would protect Texas Democrats who fled to the Prairie State over GOP efforts to redraw the Lone Star State’s congressional maps, The Hillreports.
Said Pritzker: “They’re here in Illinois. We’re going to do everything we can to protect every single one of them and make sure that — ’cause we know they’re doing the right thing, we know that they’re following the law.”
Chicago Tribune: Texas House Democrats flee to Chicago to deny GOP’s congressional redistricting effort.
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“New York is joining the fight to redraw congressional maps,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Gov. Kathy Hochul and other state leaders said they would begin the process of redistricting in New York to benefit Democrats in response to Texas Republicans’ plans to alter that state’s congressional map ahead of schedule to create more GOP seats.”
Said Hochul: “If Republicans are willing to rewrite these rules to give themselves an advantage, then they are leaving us no choice. We must do the same.”
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“California’s Democratic legislative leaders are not ready to talk publicly about Gov. Gavin Newsom’s push to have lawmakers redraw the state’s congressional maps to try to send more Democrats to the U.S. House of Representatives, but behind closed doors they appear ready to follow his lead,” KCRAreports.
“Newsom is eyeing a special election in November of this year to ask voters to temporarily restore the power to draw those maps back to the California legislature for the first time in two decades.”
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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott had a message for the dozens of Democratic legislators who fled the state to derail a mega-partisan gerrymander: “This truancy ends now,” Politicoreports.
“But Abbott’s options to compel those Democrats — whose departure to Illinois and other states is preventing the state Legislature from conducting any business — to return and vote are more constrained and legally uncertain than he let on. And they may take significant time to resolve in court.”
“Abbott and other Texas Republicans face a hard deadline as they are preparing to adopt maps that could net the GOP five seats in the U.S. House, potentially cementing the party’s majority in Congress. Maps need to be completed before the end of the year so that election officials can prepare for the state’s March 3 primaries.”
Why do you think this has any relation to the Presidential Electoral College vote?
This is only about the U.S. House of Representatives.
Got ahead of myself…..
But it very well COULD the number of districts….
I’m afraid to even ask what you are talking about with that.
It does not seem like there is any way to stop this in Texas.
Other states may follow suit, both blue and red, but it might be more complicated legally in places like California.
All of this is horrible for representative democracy. The average voter does not think about this sort of thing though and does not really care.
Likely, this will help Republicans pick up seats in Texas next year which means if Democrats are to win a House majority, they will have to flip enough seats elsewhere.
Blue states WILL follow if Texas actually does this….
Probably come out to a draw whne the dust settles….
The Texas Gov may have jumped on this too fast?
Gov. Greg Abbott’s options to force a redistricting vote are more limited than they appear
The Texas governor’s court threat could take months to resolve — despite a fast-approaching redistricting deadline.
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…But Abbott’s options to compel those Democrats — whose departure to Illinois and other states is preventing the state Legislature from conducting any business — to return and vote are more constrained and legally uncertain than he let on. And they may take significant time to resolve in court….
More…
Greg Abbott Asks Court to Expel Top Democrat
“Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) asked the state’s high court Tuesday to remove a top Democratic lawmaker from office, arguing he had abandoned his job by leading dozens of his colleagues out of state to block a GOP plan to redraw the state’s congressional map ahead of next year’s midterm elections,” the Washington Post reports.
“The move sharply escalated a standoff that has mushroomed into a national political battle over congressional districts, with red and blue states threatening to redraw their maps to benefit their side in elections that will determine control of the U.S. House.”
Texas Tribune: “The Supreme Court of Texas is entirely Republican, and Chief Justice Jimmy Blacklock, appointed in January, was formerly Abbott’s general counsel.”
Update…..
Federal court says Alabama must use map that creates 2nd Black majority district
The state is expected to appeal the decision, which comes as both parties move to draw new districts for partisan advantage.
Alabama must use independently drawn congressional maps that created a second Black-majority district more favorable to Democrats in the state for the rest of the decade, a federal court said Thursday.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama ruled unanimously that the state must use the map drawn up by a court-appointed special master until regular redistricting is scheduled to be done in 2030….
Alabama IS a Red State , Right?