The new congressional boundaries that were adopted by the state legislature earlier this year have kept that positioning similar, though the boundaries were adjusted to make room in Austin for a completely new district.
In the process, the district’s total Hispanic population decreased from 60.2 percent to 55.1 percent, according to data from the Texas Legislative Council (TLC). Likewise, the Hispanic voting age population (HVAP) decreased from 56.5 percent to 51.3 percent according to the TLC data.
One Bexar County state representative, Trey Martinez Fischer (D-San Antonio), argues in a new federal lawsuit that the new plan for TX-35 “dilutes the voting strength of Latino voters in central Texas.”
“The nature of redistricting is creating winners and losers. District lines change, incumbents gain new constituents, and communities are divided. This is inevitable,” said Martinez Fischer in a press release. “What should not be inevitable is the intentional discrimination against Latino, Black, and AAPI voters that we have come to expect from Texas Republicans in redistricting.”
“By denying Latinos in CD-35 the opportunity to elect a candidate of their choice, Texas has shortchanged our community of the representation it deserves and has willfully committed a Section 2 violation [of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.],” said Martinez Fischer.
His lawsuit also criticizes the population shift that the changes make away from San Antonio and toward Austin.
“Under the maps created by [Senate Bill 6], San Antonio’s central business district, downtown university, the River Walk, and the John H. Wood Jr. U.S. courthouse have been drawn into a congressional district anchored by a majority of its population in Austin,” claims the suit.
According to TLC data, the 2020 census population of Travis and Bexar counties in TX-35 changed from 263,480 and 344,030, respectively, under the old plan to 300,992 and 303,792 under the new plan.
Martinez Fischer’s lawsuit is only the latest in a series of challenges to the new Texas maps, which are still pending before the court.
Many of the cases, including the recent challenge from the Biden administration, have been consolidated into LULAC v. Abbott.
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Daniel Friend
Daniel Friend is the Marketing and Media Manager for The Texan. After graduating with a double-major in Political Science and Humanities, he wrote for The Texan as a reporter through June 2022. In his spare time, you're likely to find him working on The Testimony of Calvin Lewis, an Abolition of Man-inspired novel and theatrical podcast.
