Tarrant commissioners to vote today on redistricting; both sides urge big turnout
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- Tarrant Commissioners Court to vote on new precinct maps drawn by GOP group.
- Opponents cite racial gerrymandering and potential legal challenges.
- Both sides mobilize supporters for public comment ahead of the decisive vote.
Tarrant County political organizations have been rallying residents for weeks leading up to Tuesday’s Commissioners Court redistricting vote. In the last 24 hours before the vote, leaders are preparing signs and encouraging people to sign up to speak at the 10 a.m. meeting.
The Tarrant County Commissioners Court will vote whether to establish new precinct boundaries for the four commissioners seats. The fast-paced, two-month-long process began when the county selected Public Interest Legal Foundation to advise in redrawing the maps ahead of the 2026 primary and general elections.
The law firm, based in Alexandria, Virginia, have presented the court with seven maps drawn by National Republican Redistricting Trust’s president, Adam Kincaid. All of them would likely lead to an additional Republican-held seat on the court. A Harvard law professor told the Star-Telegram the maps show “telltale signs of racial gerrymandering.”
After four county-hosted public meetings, Public Interest Legal Foundation added two more maps to the original five for the court’s consideration.
Now with the deciding vote around the corner, leaders are making a final push for their supporters to speak out.
Julie McCarty, CEO of True Texas Project, said in an emailed newsletter that the Democrats are turning out “in droves” to speak against redistricting. She wants redistricting supporters to do the same.
“The Left is freaking out,” the newsletter said. “They’ve not only called on all the questionable organizations they control, like Act Blue, to register their choice for a new map, but they have gone so far as to offer babysitting and rides to show up at district meetings and at the court for the final vote! Hey, ya gotta admire their passion. Can our passion match that?”
In recent meetings, most of the people speaking have opposed redistricting, so the email gives guidance on how to support the redrawing.
“Just like at the district meetings, all you have to do is stand up and say, ‘I am John Doe, and I support redistricting with the most conservative map that gives us 3 Republican county commissioners. Thank you,’” the newsletter said.
Allison Campolo, former county chair of the Tarrant County Democratic Party, said she is rallying her troops to sign up for public comment and to stay through the long day until their voice is heard.
“We are reminding people that the real crux of the issue here is that these maps are illegally cracked and packed irreconcilable with the Voting Rights Act,” Campolo said. “This will cost Tarrant taxpayers hundreds of thousands or millions in court costs to defend these illegal maps.”
In a letter of opposition to the Commissioners Court, the Texas ACLU, Texas Civil Rights Project and Southern Coalition for Social Justice pointed to the $4 million cost of Galveston County’s redistricting litigation the Public Interest Legal Foundation was involved in.
Attorneys from Texas ACLU and the Texas Civil Rights Project said success on June 3 would look like the Commissioners Court listening to the “robust public opposition” and voting accordingly. If that doesn’t happen, the organizations will consider their legal options.
Katherine Godby, chair of the Justice Network of Tarrant County, said the organization is working with other groups to host an 8 a.m. rally against redistricting in front of the county administration building, where the vote will take place.
She said the energy surrounding the redistricting opposition has continued to grow and that people are angry over the effort.
Godby said she wants to see one of the Republicans on the court join Democrats Alisa Simmons and Roderick Miles in opposition so that the maps stay the same. If it doesn’t go that way, Godby said the Justice Network will continue speaking out at commissioners court meetings as they have done for years.
This story was originally published June 2, 2025 at 5:19 PM.