Politics
Analysis: Texas' population has changed much faster than its political maps – The Texas Tribune
Published
4 years agoon
Texas’ population has grown 40% this century, and 91% of the new Texans are people of color. Federal judges now have to decide whether those monumental changes are reflected in the state’s political maps.
by Ross Ramsey
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With new political maps like these, it would have been surprising if the U.S. Department of Justice had decided not to sue the state of Texas.
Texas has about 8.3 million more residents than it did at the beginning of the century, according to the U.S. Census Bureau — and 7.6 million of those new residents are people of color. It means the state has nearly equal numbers of Latino and white residents (39.3% and 39.8%, respectively), according to the 2020 census. Black residents accounted for 11.8% of the state’s population, Asian residents for about 5.4%.
You wouldn’t know that by looking at the new maps drawn for representation in the state’s congressional delegation or its Legislature. In 65% of the congressional districts, white Texans are in the majority; Hispanic residents are the majority in 18.4% of those districts.
Roughly equal in population, unequal in representation.
Here’s how the DOJ said it in the federal lawsuit the agency filed this week: “The Legislature refused to recognize the State’s growing minority electorate.”
Courts have frowned on maps that go in the wrong direction, taking districts away from populations that have historically been in the minority. The Texas maps arguably do that in two ways, and their detractors are making those arguments.
The DOJ lawsuit points to the 23rd Congressional District that stretches from San Antonio to El Paso and takes in most of the state’s international border. As it tried to do 10 years ago, the feds contend, “Texas made District 23 less of an electoral opportunity for minority-preferred candidates by consciously replacing many of the district’s active Latino voters with low-turnout Latino citizens, in an effort to strengthen the voting power of Anglo citizens while preserving the superficial appearance of Latino control.”
A second way to diminish the power of groups of voters is to ignore their growth, leaving a map drawn for one snapshot of the Texas population in place when that population has changed considerably.
Since the start of the century, 8.3 million more people live in Texas. What was a state with 20.9 million residents in 2000 is now a state with 29.1 million, according to the census. In the first 10 years of the century, according to the 2010 census, 89% of the 4.3 million new Texans were people of color. In the second, 95% of the growth was attributable to people of color.
Over those two decades, for every 10 additional Hispanic, Black, Asian and other Texans of color, there was one additional white Texan.
This is the first time in decades that Texas hasn’t had to seek federal approval of its maps before putting them into effect. That “preclearance” requirement was struck down by a 2013 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that said places like Texas that had histories of racial discrimination in their election and voting laws and practice would no longer be automatically subjected to federal approval.
The maps drawn this year are the first overhauls of the state’s political districts since that ruling. The federal government’s lawsuit against the state contends that Texas hasn’t changed its ways — that state legislators discriminated on the basis of race in the design of the new maps. Without that built-in obstacle of preclearance, the federal lawyers who used to have some say over changes in Texas election law now have to go to court. Their objections this year come in the form of a lawsuit, but they mirror DOJ objections of years past against maps drawn by Republican and Democratic Texas lawmakers.
Demographically, Texas is not the same state it was 20 years ago. The population has increased nearly 40% in that time. But voting power, thanks in large measure to the fervent efforts of the state Legislature, hasn’t shifted at the same pace.
The state’s conservatism has been relatively constant; Texas has been strongly Republican in its voting patterns for that whole period, including in the statewide elections that aren’t subject to redistricting. It’s not about what party people favor, but about whether maps are being drawn to favor particular groups on the basis of race.
It’s hard to deny the numbers.
Senate redistricting chair Joan Huffman, R-Houston, has said that the mapmakers were “race-blind” — that they didn’t draw the maps based on racial or ethnic differences.
Intent doesn’t matter. If racial disparity was the result — whether or not lawmakers had race in mind when they were making the maps — then those maps are not legal.
Even before the lawsuits started to fly, the differences between what the census found and what the politicians put on paper were vast. And now this all goes to the courts, where federal judges will say whether Texas was fair and legal when it portioned out political power to its citizens.
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ATLANTA (AP) — With President Joe Biden ending his reelection bid and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris, Democrats now must navigate a shift that is unprecedented this late in an election year.
Democrats are set to hold their convention in Chicago on Aug. 19-22. What was supposed to be a coronation for Biden now becomes an open contest in which nearly 4,700 delegates will be responsible for picking a new standard-bearer to challenge Republican Donald Trump in the fall.
The path ahead is neither easy nor obvious, even with Biden endorsing Harris. There are unanswered questions about logistics, money and political fallout.
Can Biden redirect his delegates?
Biden won every state primary and caucus earlier this year and only lost the territory of American Samoa. At least 3,896 delegates had been pledged to support him.
Current party rules do not permit Biden to pass them to another candidate. Politically, though, his endorsement is likely to be influential.
What could happen at the convention?
With Biden stepping aside, Democrats technically start with an open convention. But realistically, his endorsement pushes Democrats into murky territory.
The immediate burden is on Harris to solidify support across almost 4,000 delegates from the states, territories and District of Columbia, plus more than 700 so-called superdelegates that include party leaders, certain elected officials and former presidents and vice presidents.
Latest
Biden pushes for party unity as more Dems call for him to step aside…
Published
5 months agoon
July 19, 2024
WASHINGTON (AP) — A rapidly growing chorus of Democratic lawmakers called Friday for President Joe Biden to drop his reelection bid, even as the president insisted he’s ready to return to the campaign trail next week to counter what he called a “dark vision” laid out by Republican Donald Trump.
As more Democratic members of Congress urged him to drop out — bringing the total since his disastrous debate against Trump to nearly three dozen — Biden remained isolated at his beach house in Delaware after being diagnosed with COVID-19. The president, who has insisted he can beat Trump, was huddling with family and relying on a few longtime aides as he resisted efforts to shove him aside.
Late Friday, Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat who is in a tough race for reelection, called for Biden to step aside.
Brown said in a statement that he agrees with “the many Ohioans” who have reached out to him. “I think the president should end his campaign,” he said.
And in a statement later Friday, Rep. Morgan McGarvey, D-Ky., also called on Biden to drop out while saying, “there is no joy in the recognition he should not be our nominee in November. But the stakes of this election are too high.”
Biden said Trump’s acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention showcased a “dark vision for the future.” The president, seeking to move the political conversation away from his fate and onto his rival’s agenda, said Friday he was planning to return to the campaign trail next week and insisted he has a path to victory over Trump, despite the worries of some of his party’s most eminent members.
“Together, as a party and as a country, we can and will defeat him at the ballot box,” Biden said. “The stakes are high, and the choice is clear. Together, we will win.”
Earlier in the day, his campaign chair, Jen O’Malley Dillion, acknowledged “slippage” in support for the president but insisted he’s “absolutely” remaining in the race and the campaign sees “multiple paths” to beating Trump.
“We have a lot of work to do to reassure the American people that, yes, he’s old, but he can win,” she told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” show. She said voters concerned about Biden’s fitness to lead aren’t switching to vote for Trump.
Meanwhile, the Democratic National Committee’s rulemaking arm held a meeting Friday, pressing ahead with plans for a virtual roll call before Aug. 7 to nominate the presidential pick, ahead of the party’s convention later in the month in Chicago.
What to know about the 2024 Election
- Read the latest: Follow AP’s live coverage of this year’s election.
- Democracy: American democracy has overcome big stress tests since 2020. More challenges lie ahead in 2024.
- AP’s Role: The Associated Press is the most trusted source of information on election night, with a history of accuracy dating to 1848. Learn more.
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“President Biden deserves the respect to have important family conversations with members of the caucus and colleagues in the House and Senate and Democratic leadership and not be battling leaks and press statements,” Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware, Biden’s closest friend in Congress and his campaign co-chair, told The Associated Press.
It’s a pivotal few days for the president and his party: Trump has wrapped up an enthusiastic Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Thursday. And Democrats, racing time, are considering the extraordinary possibility of Biden stepping aside for a new presidential nominee before their own convention.
Among the democrats expressing worries to allies about Biden’s chances were former President Barack Obama and Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, who has privately told Biden the party could lose the ability to seize control of the House if he doesn’t step aside.
New Mexico Sen. Martin Heinrich called on Biden to exit the race, making him the third Senate Democrat to do so.
“By passing the torch, he would secure his legacy as one of our nation’s greatest leaders and allow us to unite behind a candidate who can best defeat Donald Trump and safeguard the future of our democracy,” said Heinrich, who’s up for reelection.
And Reps. Jared Huffman, Mark Veasey, Chuy Garcia and Mark Pocan, representing a wide swath of the caucus, together called on Biden to step aside.
“We must defeat Donald Trump to save our democracy,” they wrote.
Separately, Rep. Sean Casten of Illinois wrote in an op-ed that with “a heavy heart and much personal reflection” he, too, was calling on Biden to “pass the torch to a new generation.”
Campaign officials said Biden was even more committed to staying in the race. And senior West Wing aides have had no internal discussions or conversations with the president about dropping out.
On Friday, Biden picked up a key endorsement from the political arm of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. CHC BOLD PAC said the Biden administration has shown “unwavering commitment” to Latinos and “the stakes couldn’t be higher” in this election.
But there is also time to reconsider. Biden has been told the campaign is having trouble raising money, and key Democrats see an opportunity as he is away from the campaign for a few days to encourage his exit. Among his Cabinet, some are resigned to the likelihood of him losing in November.
The reporting in this story is based in part on information from almost a dozen people who insisted on anonymity to discuss sensitive private deliberations. The Washington Post first reported on Obama’s involvement.
Biden, 81, tested positive for COVID-19 while traveling in Las Vegas earlier this week and experienced “mild symptoms” including “general malaise” from the infection, the White House said.
White House doctor Kevin O’Connor said Friday that the president still had a dry cough and hoarseness, but that his COVID symptoms had improved.
Biden noted his illness while making a joke about Trump on social media Friday night, posting: “I’m stuck at home with COVID, so I had the distinct misfortune of watching Donald Trump’s speech to the RNC. What the hell was he talking about?”
In Congress, Democratic lawmakers have begun having private conversations about lining up behind Harris as an alternative. One lawmaker said Biden’s own advisers are unable to reach a unanimous recommendation about what he should do. More in Congress are considering joining the others who have called for Biden to drop out. Some prefer an open process for choosing a new presidential nominee.
“It’s clear the issue won’t go away,” said Vermont Sen. Peter Welch, the other Senate Democrat who has publicly said Biden should exit the race. Welch said the current state of party angst — with lawmakers panicking and donors revolting — was “not sustainable.”
However, influential Democrats including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries are sending signals of concern.
“There is of course work to be done, and that in fact is the case because we are an evenly divided country,” Jeffries said in an interview on WNYC radio Friday.
But he also said, “The ticket that exists right now is the ticket that we can win on. … It’s his decision to make.”
To be sure, many want Biden to stay in the race. But among Democrats nationwide, nearly two-thirds say Biden should step aside and let his party nominate a different candidate, according to an AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll. That sharply undercuts Biden’s post-debate claim that “average Democrats” are still with him.
Amid the turmoil, a majority of Democrats think Vice President Kamala Harris would make a good president herself.
A poll from the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that about 6 in 10 Democrats believe Harris would do a good job in the top slot. About 2 in 10 Democrats don’t believe she would, and another 2 in 10 say they don’t know enough to say.
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Associated Press writers Joey Cappelletti in Lansing, Michigan, Ellen Knickmeyer in Aspen, Colorado, Steve Peoples in Milwaukee, and Josh Boak, Will Weissert, Mary Clare Jalonick, Seung Min Kim and Stephen Groves in Washington contributed to this report.
Latest
Rally shooter had photos of Trump, Biden, other US officials on phone…
Published
5 months agoon
July 19, 2024
WASHINGTON (AP) — The 20-year-old Pennsylvania man who tried to assassinate Donald Trump had photos on his phone of the former Republican president, President Joe Biden and other officials, including Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Chris Wray, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Investigators searching Thomas Matthew Crooks’ devices have also found that the shooter looked up the dates for the Democratic National Convention as well as Trump’s appearances, according to the people who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition on anonymity to discuss details of the ongoing probe.
The FBI has been searching for clues into what drove Crooks to open fire at Saturday’s campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in an attempt to assassinate the GOP presidential nominee. The FBI has said they are investigating the shooting as a potential act of domestic terrorism but have yet to find a clear ideological motive. The FBI gained access to Crooks’ cellphone, scoured his computer, home and car, and interviewed more than 100 people so far.
Crooks killed one rallygoer and seriously wounded two others. Trump suffered an ear injury but was not seriously hurt, appearing just days later at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee with a bandage over the wound.
The shooter had also searched for information about major depressive disorder, according to three people familiar the investigation. But investigators have not yet determined whether he was actually diagnosed with the disorder, one of the people said. Studies have shown that the vast majority of people with mental illnesses are not violent, and experts say most people who are violent do not have mental illnesses.
On a conference call with reporters Sunday, Kevin Rojek, the special agent in charge of the Pittsburgh field office, said: “We have no indication of any mental health issues.”
Crooks used an AR-style rifle, which authorities said was purchased legally by his father. Investigators also found he brought multiple loaded magazines. He also bought 50 rounds on the day of the shooting. Authorities found a bulletproof vest in his car and another rudimentary explosive device at his home. Over the past few months he had received several packages there, including some that had potentially hazardous material.
The shooting raised serious questions about why law enforcement was unable to stop the man from getting on a roof and opening fire. Multiple investigations into the security failures are underway, including a Department of Homeland Security inspector general’s probe into the Secret Service’s handling of security.
What to know about the 2024 Election
- Read the latest: Follow AP’s live coverage of this year’s election.
- Democracy: American democracy has overcome big stress tests since 2020. More challenges lie ahead in 2024.
- AP’s Role: The Associated Press is the most trusted source of information on election night, with a history of accuracy dating to 1848. Learn more.
- Stay informed. Keep your pulse on the news with breaking news email alerts. Sign up here.
The Republican chairman of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee issued a subpoena Wednesday to Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle for her to appear before the committee on Monday. Republican have been calling for Cheatle to resign in the wake of the shooting, though she has said she has no intention do so.
Local law enforcement had noticed Crooks pacing around the edges of rally, shouldering a big backpack and peering into the lens of a rangefinder toward the rooftops behind the stage where the president later stood, officials have told the AP.
An image of Crooks was circulated by officers stationed outside the security perimeter. Witnesses later saw him climbing up the side of a squat manufacturing building that was within 135 meters (157 yards) from the stage. He then set up his AR-style rifle and lay on the rooftop, a detonator in his pocket to set off crude explosive devices that were stashed in his car parked nearby.
Butler Township Manager Tom Knights said in a statement to The Associated Press on Thursday that officers were searching for a suspicious person around the time Trump arrived. Officers didn’t find him around the building, so a Butler Township officer attempted to gain access to the roof by being hoisted up by another officer, Knights said. The officer spotted a person on the roof, and that person pointed a rifle at the officer, Knights said.
“The officer was in a defenseless position, and there was no way he could engage the actor while holding onto the roof edge,” Knights said. The officer fell to the ground and Butler Township officers “immediately communicated the individuals location and that he was in possession of a weapon,” Knights said.
Moments later, Crooks started firing, sending panicked spectators ducking for cover as Secret Service agents shielded Trump and pulled him from the stage. Two counter-sniper teams were stationed on buildings behind Trump, and the team further away from Crooks fired once, killing him.
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Associated Press reporter Michael R. Sisak in Butler, Pennsylvania, contributed.