April 15, 2020      11:29 AM

SB: With census data possibly delayed until next July, those who will lead Texas redistricting face substantial questions

Chairman Phil King says he and others are working to determine the path forward; members of Congress may face bipartisan pressure to push back on the Trump Administration’s proposed delay

With the Trump Administration now looking to delay the delivery of redistricting data to the states as late as the end of next July, Texas House Redistricting Committee Chairman Phil King told Quorum Report he is working with state and federal leaders to figure out the best path forward for the redrawing of political lines in 2021.

State leaders will, obviously, consult in the days ahead with redistricting attorneys to figure out how to proceed and members of Congress may come under serious pressure to not allow the Administration to do this. One primary reason, as one observer noted, is that almost no state legislatures meet regularly in the summer. That would mean many states couldn’t redraw their legislative and congressional lines in any way that would seem at all timely without special sessions.

But if the feds stall, state lawmakers would deal with pressure of their own to get it done quickly after the census is eventually published. After all, the whole point of redistricting is to honor the principle of “one person, one vote” by rebalancing the populations in all districts. Would that principle be upheld by waiting a year or potentially two years after the numbers are released?

By Scott Braddock

Copyright April 15, 2020, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved