By Juliana Vasquez | Staff Writer
Texans are still adjusting to their new voting map following August’s congressional redistricting, and Waco experts say the new districts may affect voters more than they think.
The Texas legislature voted to redraw the congressional districts on Aug. 23. The new maps intend to flip five Democratic seats to Republican seats, which would impact the 2026 midterm elections. Redrawn maps will impact Texas residents and any Baylor students who register to vote in McLennan County.
Dr. Benjamin Kleinerman, professor of political science, said the mid-decade redistricting was an unorthodox and debated move by Texas Republicans.
“Every 10 years, the party that’s in the majority in the state legislature redistricts based on the number of congressional seats they’ve been assigned after the census,” Kleinerman said.
Redistricting came after Trump told Texas Republicans to redraw the state’s congressional maps to create more House seats for the Republican Party. Kleinerman said the move is also known as gerrymandering.
“This isn’t a new phenomenon. … It’s common for states, both Republican and Democratic, to engage in gerrymandering. The Republican majority in the Texas legislature is not the first, nor will it be the last, to do so,” Kleinerman said.
In terms of how the redistricting impacts the redrawn districts specifically, Mark Hays, the chair of the McLennan County Democratic Party, said there’s room for new opportunities and increased adversity.
“It changes the shape of our 17th Congressional District, so we lose some areas in the east, and it will add some in the south and north along the Highway 35 corridor, picking up part of Bell County, Williamson County, Hill County, Bosque County and then some more,” Hays said.
Congressional District 17 used to stretch from Waco to Nacogdoches, including parts of Round Rock. The new district is more compact, only going from Waco to Fairfield, then Rio Vista and Round Rock.
Linda Jann Lewis has followed the dispute over Texas redistricting. Lewis is the Waco NAACP Political Action Committee chair, Texas NAACP State Political Action Committee vice chair and Texas state election expert. According to Lewis, the obvious gerrymandering is both concerning and disappointing.
“We’ve got rural areas that have been engulfed by suburban areas in the big cities, and now the people who represent those areas don’t always look like the people who live in them,” Lewis said. “Texans are proud of our image and who we are, and there will be lawsuits until y’all get out of college and start voting.”
At the end of the day, Lewis said the most important thing is to go out and vote. According to Lewis, if the 18 million eligible voters actually do exercise their right to vote, it could turn Texas politics on its head.
“The person who represents you in Congress can impact the economics of their district. There’s a direct correlation between what congressional district these things are in and who represents you,” Lewis said. “Do your own research, get your own information and vote where you sleep to do good in the community that surrounds you.”
