Hearing on Texas redistricting is set for today in San Antonio

By Aman Batheja

abatheja@star-telegram.com

The 2012 Texas primaries are more than four months away, but the next two weeks could have a major impact on how some of those races play out.

Lawsuits over the political maps that Texas lawmakers passed this year and that Gov. Rick Perry signed into law are scheduled to move forward, with the outcomes potentially influencing the political futures of Democrats and Republicans statewide.

Federal judges in Washington, D.C., and San Antonio are considering allegations that the redistricting plans were designed to reduce the voting power of minorities. A hearing in the case is set for today in San Antonio.

The Washington proceedings represent Texas' effort to get federal approval of the maps, a step required of all states with a history of voting-rights violations. Several lawmakers and advocacy groups separately sued in San Antonio to block the maps.

Texas hopes to gain approval of the new congressional districts, State Board of Education districts and districts for the state House and Senate.

The Justice Department has focused its criticism on the congressional and state House district plans. In a filing last week, Justice officials said the maps discriminate against Hispanic voters. A spokeswoman for Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott criticized the Justice Department for using "inflammatory rhetoric" and not backing up its claims with evidence.

The back and forth is set to escalate Wednesday when a three-judge panel in Washington holds a hearing on the state's request to clear the maps.

While the court proceedings could play out over months, the Texas Republican and Democratic parties have set Nov. 12 as the start of their one-month period to allow candidates to file for next year's primary ballot.

Candidates and political observers say a court may delay the filing period because of uncertainty over what maps will be used next year. Redistricting issues have prompted the federal government to fiddle with Texas' primary filing schedule in the past, including in 1982, according to the Texas Legislative Council.

Both major parties in Texas are planning for the primaries based on the new maps.

"Until we're officially told otherwise, those are the maps that we're using," said Rebecca Acuna with the Democratic Party.

Republican Party spokesman Chris Elam said, "The Republican Party of Texas stands ready to operate under whatever schedule the court mandates."

Steve Bickerstaff, an adjunct professor at the University of Texas Law School and a redistricting expert, said he can see circumstances under which the courts would alter the filing period, the most likely one being that the D.C. court doesn't clear one or more of the state's maps.

"If there is an objection, the filing deadline will definitely be extended," Bickerstaff said.

The uncertainty over when those federal rulings will come prompted the San Antonio federal court to schedule a hearing this week on temporary maps.

State Senate map

The new map for the 31 Senate districts has become an issue in North Texas as Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, has said her District 10 was unfairly redrawn to exclude minority communities that strongly backed her in 2008.

Davis expressed optimism that federal judges will agree with her that minority voters in Everman, Forest Hill and parts of Fort Worth will be disenfranchised under the Republican-backed map.

Republican state Reps. Kelly Hancock of North Richland Hills and Mark Shelton are both vying to run against Davis next year.

Hancock said last week that he expects the Senate map to make it through the federal process.

"The Senate passed the Senate map 29-2," Hancock said. "She's the only one complaining."

Davis said most Senate Democrats voted for the bill out of concern that if it didn't pass, a Republican-dominated redistricting board would take over the process and produce a less favorable map. She pointed to a letter that 12 Senate Democrats signed criticizing the way Davis' district was redrawn.

Davis believes that the law is on her side. While Republicans are acting confident, "what they disregard is that judges, whether appointed by Republicans or Democrats, have a duty to follow the Voting Rights Act," she said.

This report includes material from The Associated Press.

Aman Batheja, 817-390-7695

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