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3w ago

Texas Redistricting Stalemate Intensifies as GOP Threatens Enforcement

Republicans advanced a mid-cycle plan to add five GOP districts; they are pursuing arrest warrants, levying daily fines, seeking seat-vacancy rulings for Democrats who fled to break quorum

Many seats remain empty during the House's call to order at the state Capitol on August 5 in Austin, Texas.
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Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker speaks during a news conference in Chicago with Texas Democrats on August 5, 2025.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington, April 8, 2025.

Overview

  • More than 50 Texas House Democrats remain in Illinois to deny the legislature a quorum, blocking a full vote on the GOP-backed congressional map.
  • A Texas House committee approved on August 2 a draft plan to redraw congressional lines that analysis shows would have given President Trump victories in 30 of the state’s 38 districts in 2024.
  • Gov. Greg Abbott and House Speaker Dustin Burrows authorized civil arrest warrants and $500-a-day fines for absent lawmakers, while Attorney General Ken Paxton said he will seek court orders declaring their offices vacant.
  • Legal experts caution that enforcing warrants and vacancy rulings faces logistical and judicial challenges, since Democratic lawmakers are beyond the reach of Texas authorities.
  • Governors in California, Illinois and New York are exploring their own mid-decade redistricting strategies, raising the prospect of a nationwide tit-for-tat over congressional map drawing.