Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday approved Texas’ new political maps for the state’s congressional, legislative and State Board of Education districts, according to Texas Legislature Online.
Many Denton County residents are now in different districts than they were in the most recent election. Click here to see which U.S. Congress, State House, State Senate and Board of Education districts you used to be in, and which ones you’re in now.
The biggest changes in southern Denton County are in the State House district maps. Many former District 63 residents are now in District 65, and many former District 64 residents are now in District 57.
The U.S. House of Representatives seat, TX-26, remains the same for southern Denton County, but it did change significantly. Previously, the map was nearly all of Denton County and part of north Tarrant County, and now it includes the southern half of Wise County and all of Cooke County, but central and northwest Denton County are cut out. The State Senate District 12 still covers all of southern Denton County, though the rest of its map changed a lot as well.
The maps were drawn by Texas Republicans and they largely shore up GOP majorities. The new districts will be used for the first time in next year’s primary and general elections, barring any court interventions. Legal battles have already begun, with one early lawsuit raising various claims that the new districts unfairly and illegally discriminate against voters of color. More legal challenges are expected to pop up in the near future.
Part of this news story originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2021/10/25/2021-texas-redistricting-explained/.
