How redistricting in Texas and other states could change the game for US
House elections
[August 04, 2025]
By LEAH ASKARINAM
WASHINGTON (AP) — Redistricting usually happens after the once-a-decade
population count by the U.S. Census Bureau or in response to a court
ruling. Now, Texas Republicans want to break that tradition — and other
states could follow suit.
Democrats in Texas' House have left the state to prevent the vote on a
redistricting plan pushed by President Donald Trump that would send five
more Republicans to Washington after the 2026 midterm elections and make
it harder for Democrats to regain the majority and blunt the president's
agenda.
The state has 38 seats in the House. Republicans now hold 25 and
Democrats 12, with one seat vacant after the death of a Democrat.
“There’s been a lot more efforts by the parties and political actors to
push the boundaries – literally and figuratively – to reconfigure what
the game is,” said Doug Spencer, Rothgerber Jr. Chair in Constitutional
Law at the University of Colorado.
Other states are waiting to see what Texas does and whether to follow
suit.
The rules of redistricting can be vague and variable; each state has its
own set of rules and procedures. Politicians are gauging what voters
will tolerate when it comes to politically motivated mapmaking.
Here’s what to know about the rules of congressional redistricting:
When does redistricting normally happen?
Every decade, the Census Bureau collects population data used to divide
the 435 House seats among the 50 states based on the updated head count.
It's a process known as reapportionment. States that grew relative to
others might gain a seat at the expense of those whose populations
stagnated or declined.
States use their own procedures to draw lines for the assigned number of
districts. The smallest states receive just one representative, which
means the entire state is a single congressional district.
Some state constitutions require independent commissions to devise the
political boundaries or to advise the legislature. When legislatures
take the lead, lawmakers can risk drawing lines that end up challenged
in court, usually for violating the Voting Rights Act. Mapmakers can get
another chance to resubmit new maps. Sometimes, judges draw the maps on
their own.
Is midcycle redistricting allowed?
By the first midterm elections after the latest population count, each
state is ready with its maps, but those districts do not always stick.
Courts can find that the political lines are unconstitutional.
There is no national impediment to a state trying to redraw districts in
the middle of the decade and to do it for political reasons, such as
increasing representation by the party in power.
“The laws about redistricting just say you have to redistrict after
every census,” Spencer said. “And then some state legislatures got a
little clever and said, well it doesn’t say we can’t do it more.”
Some states do have laws that would prevent midcycle redistricting or
make it difficult to do so in a way that benefits one party.
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A woman holds a sign during a rally to protest against redistricting
hearings at the Texas Capitol, Thursday, July 24, 2025, in Austin,
Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., has threatened to retaliate against the
GOP push in Texas by drawing more favorable Democratic seats in his
state. That goal, however, is complicated by a constitutional
amendment that requires an independent commission to lead the
process.
Is Texas’ effort unprecedented?
Texas has done it before.
When the Legislature failed to agree on a redistricting plan after
the 2000 census, a federal court stepped in with its own map.
Republican Tom DeLay of Texas, who was then the U.S. House majority
leader, thought his state should have five more districts friendly
to his party. “I’m the majority leader and we want more seats,′′ he
said at the time.
Statehouse Democrats protested by fleeing to Oklahoma and depriving
the Legislature of enough votes to officially conduct any business.
But DeLay eventually got his way, and Republicans replaced Democrats
in five seats in 2004.
Now, a large chunk of Texas Democrats have decided to take that same
route, heading to Illinois to break quorum.
What do the courts say about gerrymandering?
In 2019, the Supreme Court ruled that federal courts should not get
involved in debates over political gerrymandering, the practice of
drawing districts for partisan gain. In that decision, Chief Justice
John Roberts said redistricting is “ highly partisan by any measure.
”
But courts may demand new maps if they believe the congressional
boundaries dilute the votes of a racial minority group, in violation
of the Voting Rights Act.
Could other states follow suit?
Washington Rep. Suzan DelBene, who leads House Democrats' campaign
arm, indicated at a Christian Science Monitor event that if Texas
follows through on passing new maps, Democratic-led states would
look at their own political lines.
“If they go down this path, absolutely folks are going to respond
across the country,” DelBene said. “We're not going to be sitting
back with one hand tied behind our back while Republicans try to
undermine voices of the American people.”
In New York, Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul recently joined Newsom in
expressing openness to taking up mid-decade redistricting. But state
laws mandating independent commissions or blunting the ability to
gerrymander would come into play.
Among Republican-led states, Ohio could try to further expand the
10-5 edge that the GOP holds in the House delegation; a quirk in
state law requires Ohio to redraw its maps before the 2026 midterms.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he was considering early
redistricting and “working through what that would look like.”
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