The 2003 Texas redistricting refers to a highly controversial congressional redistricting plan appealed to the United States Supreme Court in League of United Latin American Citizens v. Perry. On June 28, 2006, the Supreme Court upheld the statewide redistricting as Constitutional, but struck down Congressional District 23 as racial gerrymandering in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. The process known as redistricting in the United States and redistribution in many Commonwealth countries is the changing of political borders (in many countries, specifically the electoral district/constituency boundaries) usually in response to periodic census results. ... Federal courts Supreme Court Circuit Courts of Appeal District Courts Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Local Government Other countries Atlas  US Government Portal      The Supreme Court of the United States (sometimes colloquially referred to by the... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Redrawing electoral districts in this example creates a guaranteed 3-to-1 advantage for Party 1. ... The National Voting Rights Act of 1965 ()[1] outlawed the requirement that would-be voters in the United States take literacy tests to qualify to register to vote, and it provided for federal registration of voters in areas that had less than 50% of eligible minority voters registered. ...

Overview

After Republicans won control of the Texas state legislature in 2002, for the first time in 130 years, they set their sights on establishing a majority of House of Representatives seats held by their party. After the 2002 election, Democrats had a 17-15 edge in House seats representing Texas, although the state's voters voted for Republicans in congressional races by an 18-14 margin.[1]. After a protracted partisan struggle, the legislature enacted a new congressional districting map, Plan 1374C, introduced in the Texas House by Representative Phil King of Weatherford. In the 2004 congressional elections, Republicans won 21 seats to the Democrats' 11. [2] In 2006 Republicans won 19 seats, and Democrats won 13. [3] GOP redirects here. ... Texas Senate in session The Texas Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Texas. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... Type Bicameral Speaker of the House of Representatives House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi, (D) since January 4, 2007 Steny Hoyer, (D) since January 4, 2007 House Minority Leader John Boehner, (R) since January 4, 2007 Members 435 plus 4 Delegates and 1 Resident Commissioner Political groups Democratic Party Republican Party... Federal courts Supreme Court Circuit Courts of Appeal District Courts Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Local Government Other countries Atlas  Politics Portal      Further information: Politics of the United States#Organization of American political parties The Democratic... For other uses, see Texas (disambiguation). ... Phillip Stephen Phil King (born February 29, 1956) is a Weatherford, Texas, attorney who has been a conservative Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives since 1999. ... Weatherford is a city in Parker County, Texas, United States. ...

The resulting redistricting effort was extremely controversial, particularly because of the role played by Tom DeLay. On June 28, 2006, the Supreme Court of the United States issued an opinion that threw out portions of the redistricting, requiring lawmakers to adjust boundaries to conform with the Court's decision, though the ruling did not immediately threaten Republican gains as a result of the redistricting. [4]. Thomas Dale DeLay (born April 8, 1947) is a former member of the United States House of Representatives from Sugar Land, Texas. ...

2000–2001 evolution and DeLay's role

Redistricting in Texas was traditionally done once every ten years, soon after the National Census. A redistricting occurred in 1991, when the Democrats held both the governor's seat (with Ann Richards) and a legislative majority. By 2000, Republican George W. Bush was governor, with Republican Rick Perry as his lieutenant governor. Image:1870 census Lindauer Weber 01. ... Year 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the 1991 Gregorian calendar). ... This article is about the American politician/teacher, for the Australian-American actress, see Ann Richards (actress). ... Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full 2000 Gregorian calendar). ... George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is the forty-third and current President of the United States of America, originally inaugurated on January 20, 2001. ... James Richard Perry (b. ...

After the 2000 elections, however, Democrats maintained their majority in the Texas legislature. In 2001, the Democrats and Republicans were unable to agree on a new district map to correspond with the 2000 census. Per state law, under these circumstances, the matter could be submitted to a panel of judges. The Republican minority recommended this solution. Accordingly, the matter was forwarded for this type of review, and the judges drew a new map, which still established a Democratic majority.^{[citation needed]} Under the Texas Constitution, the Legislative Redistricting Board (LRB) convenes only when the state legislature is unable to approve a redistricting plan in the first legislative session following the National Census. In June, 2001, the redistricting task passed to the LRB after the state legislature failed to pass a redistricting plan.^[1] Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full 2000 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ... The Texas Constitution is the document that describes the structure and function of the government of Texas. ...

In September, 2001, Texas Representative Tom DeLay organized Texans for a Republican Majority (TRMPAC), a political action committee designed to gather campaign funds for Republican candidates throughout Texas. TRMPAC was modeled closely after DeLay's Americans for a Republican Majority (ARMPAC), a federal-level organization created to raise funds for Republicans during the 2000 national elections.^[2] Simultaneously, as has been well documented in the media, DeLay played a key role in the ongoing Texas redistricting effort. Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ... Thomas Dale DeLay (born April 8, 1947) is a former member of the United States House of Representatives from Sugar Land, Texas. ... This article contains information that has not been verified. ... Americans for a Republican Majority also ARMPAC, a Political Action Committee formed by former Republican House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. ...

In 2002, a Republican majority was elected to the state legislature. Under the encouragement of Tom DeLay, Governor Rick Perry and the Republican majority tried to make redistricting a major issue during the 2003 legislative session. By the end of the term, however, the issue had not been settled. As a result, Perry called for special summer sessions. Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In summer 2003, the state legislature attempted once more to reapportion the state's congressional districts. Democratic party members from the two state houses, lacking the votes to defeat the redistricting plan, fled the state for nearby Oklahoma and New Mexico. In doing so, the 53 members made it impossible for a quorum to exist, thus blocking the redistricting efforts. The absent Democratic representatives became collectively known as the "Killer D's". For other uses, see Oklahoma (disambiguation). ... Capital Santa Fe Largest city Albuquerque Largest metro area Albuquerque metropolitan area Area  Ranked 5th  - Total 121,665 sq mi (315,194 km²)  - Width 342 miles (550 km)  - Length 370 miles (595 km)  - % water 0. ... Look up quorum in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Killer Ds are a group of Texas House Democrats who left the state of Texas for Ardmore, Okla. ...

An article in the March 6, 2006, issue of The New Yorker magazine, written by Jeffrey Toobin, quoted Texas's junior Republican Senator John Cornyn as saying, "Everybody who knows Tom knows that he's a fighter and a competitor, and he saw an opportunity to help the Republicans stay in power in Washington." Toobin also noted that DeLay left Washington and returned to Texas to oversee the project while final voting was underway in the state legislature, and that "several times during the long days of negotiating sessions, DeLay personally shuttled proposed maps among House and Senate offices in Austin."^[3] For other uses, see New Yorker. ... Jeffrey Toobin (born 1960) is a lawyer, author, and senior legal analyst for CNN. He is the son of pioneer woman journalist Marlene Sanders. ... John Cornyn III (born February 2, 1952) is the junior United States Senator from Texas. ...

Texas Monthly editor Paul Burka, writing in the magazine's May 2006 issue, labelled the measure as "DeLay’s midcensus congressional redistricting plan" and stated "in order to increase his Republican majority in Congress, he [DeLay] resorted to a midcensus redistricting plan." [5] Texas Monthly is a monthly American magazine published in Austin, Texas. ...

Justice Department involvement

In December 2005, the Washington Post reported, "Justice Department lawyers concluded that the landmark Texas congressional redistricting plan spearheaded by Rep. Tom DeLay violated the Voting Rights Act, according to a previously undisclosed memo" uncovered by the newspaper. [6] The document, endorsed by six Justice Department attorneys, said "the redistricting plan illegally diluted black and Hispanic voting power in two congressional districts." December 2005 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December- → 31 December 2005 (Saturday) 25-year-old Scottish human rights worker Kate Burton and her parents are freed unharmed in the Gaza Strip by the Palestinian gunmen who kidnapped them two days earlier. ... ...

"The State of Texas has not met its burden in showing that the proposed congressional redistricting plan does not have a discriminatory effect," the memo noted. The article also stated that Justice Department lawyers "found that Republican lawmakers and state officials who helped craft the proposal were aware it posed a high risk of being ruled discriminatory compared with other options." Nonetheless, Texas legislators proceeded with the new plan "because it would maximize the number of Republican federal lawmakers in the state," the Post said about the document.

Criticism of the plan

Democrats criticized the 2003 redistricting effort, citing the lack of precedent for redistricting twice in a decade, considering it had already been done in 2002, and argued that it was being done for purely political gain and was therefore gerrymandering. Statements by some Republicans lent support to this claim, since many publicly stated their expectations of picking up several Republican seats. Some minority groups argued the plan was unconstitutional, as it would dilute their influence and possibly violate the "one-person-one-vote" principle of redistricting. Republicans counterargued, however, that since most voters in the state were Republicans, it was appropriate that the party have a majority in the federal legislative delegation. Elections Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box:      The Gerry-Mander first appeared in this cartoon-map in the Boston Gazette, 26 March 1812 Gerrymandering is a form of redistricting in which electoral district or constituency boundaries are manipulated for an electoral advantage. ...

The results of the 2004 elections brought Texas Republicans a majority of House seats by a 21-11 margin. The state voted for the Republican presidential candidate by a margin of 61-38, which led the party to claim that the problem of unfair representation in Texas had been remedied. Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

2006 Supreme Court review

The Supreme Court of the United States issued an opinion on the case in League of United Latin American Citizens v. Perry on June 28, 2006. While the Court said states are free to redistrict however often they like, the justices invalidated Texas's District 23, citing a Section 2 violation of the Voting Rights Act. This decision will require lawmakers to adjust boundaries in line with the Court's ruling. [7] To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The National Voting Rights Act of 1965 ()[1] outlawed the requirement that would-be voters in the United States take literacy tests to qualify to register to vote, and it provided for federal registration of voters in areas that had less than 50% of eligible minority voters registered. ...

On June 29, 2006, a U. S. District Judge as part of a three judge panel, under an order from the U. S. Court of Appeals, overseeing the redistricting ordered that both sides should submit proposed maps by July 14, respond to their opponents' maps by July 21, and that oral arguments will occur on August 3. [8]

Democrats targeted by redistricting

The 2003 redistricting targeted ten white, Democratic incumbents, avoiding all seven minority Democratic incumbents.^[4]

• Max Sandlin
• Jim Turner
• Ralph Hall
• Nick Lampson
• Lloyd Doggett
• Chet Edwards
• Charles Stenholm
• Martin Frost
• Chris Bell
• Gene Green

In addition, the redistricting sought to protect Hispanic Republican Henry Bonilla, who had faced a stiff challenge from conservative Democrat Henry Cuellar in 2002, and neutralize liberal Democrat Ciro Rodriguez. This was done by putting Cuellar's base county of Laredo in the district held by Rodriguez. Thus instead of Bonilla being challenged again by Cuellar, Cuellar instead ran against Rodriguez in 2004, defeating him in the Democratic primary. Max A. Sandlin, Jr. ... James Hard Nipples Turner (born February 6, 1946), American politician, was the Democratic representative for the Texas 2nd congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1997 until 2005. ... Ralph Moody Hall (born May 3, 1923) is a United States Representative from the Fourth Congressional District in Texas (map). ... Nicholas V. Nick Lampson (born February 14, 1945) is an American politician from the state of Texas. ... Rep. ... Thomas Chester Chet Edwards (born November 24, 1951) is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who has represented various Central Texas congressional districts in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1991. ... Rep. ... Congressman Martin Frost Jonas Martin Frost III (born January 1, 1942) is an American politician, who was the Democratic representative to the U.S. House of Representatives for the Texas 24th Congressional District from 1979 to 2005. ... Robert Christopher Chris Bell (born November 23, 1959) is a Democratic Party politician in the United States. ... Raymond Eugene Gene Green (born October 17, 1947) is a Democratic politician and a U.S. Congressman from the state of Texas. ... Henry Bonilla (born January 2, 1954) is a Republican politician who has represented Texass 23rd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives since 1992. ... Federal courts Supreme Court Circuit Courts of Appeal District Courts Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Local Government Other countries Atlas  Politics Portal      Further information: Politics of the United States#Organization of American political parties The Democratic... Rep. ... Ciro D. Rodriguez (b. ...

This was a similar strategy to the one employed against Chris Bell, who was placed in a majority-black district in which an African-American Democrat would be more likely to win than the Caucasian Bell. Languages Predominantly American English Religions Protestantism (chiefly Baptist and Methodist); Roman Catholicism; Islam Related ethnic groups Sub-Saharan Africans and other African groups, some with Native American groups. ...

As of 2007, only Hall, Lampson, Doggett, Edwards and Green still hold their Congressional posts (and Ralph Hall switched his party affiliation to Republican in 2004). The others were defeated by their Republican challengers in the 2004 elections. Chris Bell ran unsuccessfully for Governor in 2006.

America: The Book

In comedian John Stewart's America: The Book, readers are invited to divide Texas into districts, isolating minorities into one area using fewer than five lines. For the documentary about Jerry Seinfeld, see Comedian (film). ... Not to be confused with John Stewart or John Stuart. ... Cover of America (The Book) The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents America (The Book): A Citizens Guide to Democracy Inaction (ISBN 0446532681) is a 2004 humor book written and edited by Jon Stewart, Ben Karlin, and David Javerbaum, and written by the staff of the The Daily Show. ...

See also

• Call of the house
• Gerrymandering
• Texas Eleven
• Texas Five

A call of the house is a motion which can be adopted by a deliberative assembly that has the authority to compel the attendance of its members in the absence of a quorum. ... Elections Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box:      The Gerry-Mander first appeared in this cartoon-map in the Boston Gazette, 26 March 1812 Gerrymandering is a form of redistricting in which electoral district or constituency boundaries are manipulated for an electoral advantage. ... The Texas Eleven are a group of Texas Senate Democrats who fled the state of Texas for Oklahoma and New Mexico for 46 days in 2003 in a quorum-busting effort aimed at preventing the passage of controversial redistricting legislation that would have benefited Texas Republicans. ... The Texas Five was a term coined for a group of five Democratic members of the United States House of Representatives from the state of Texas. ...

References

• "Drawing the Line — Will Tom Delay's Redistricting in Texas Cost Him His Seat?" by Jeffrey Toobin, The New Yorker magazine, March 6, 2006, pp. 32–37.
• "Mess With Texas — the Supreme Court Has Another Look at Partisan Gerrymanders", by Dahlia Lithwick, Slate, March 1, 2006.
• "Evidence of Political Manipulation at the Justice Department: How Tom DeLay's Redistricting Plan Avoided Voting Rights Act Disapproval", by Mark Posner, FindLaw.com Legal News, December 6, 2005.
• "Justice Staff Saw Texas Districting As Illegal", Washington Post, December 2, 2005, page A01
• "Republicans enlisted Department of Homeland Security in Texas political fight", WSW News, May 17, 2003.

Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 37th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... ...

External links

• Northwestern University overview on pending Supreme Court case, with extensive further links
• United States Supreme Court oral argument transcript in pending case
• Texas Redistricting U.S. Supreme Court Cases Resource Center
• Current Texas election districts
• United States District Court decision in pending litigation