LWVCA Hosts Public Forum on Voting District Maps
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The League of Women Voters of the Comal Area (LWVCA) will host a public forum on redistricting at 6 p.m. Monday, Jan. 20 at Tye Preston Memorial Library, 16311 South Access Rd., Canyon Lake.
LWV-Texas (LWVTX) Redistricting Issue Chair Stephanie Swanson and Common Cause Texas Chair J.C. Dufresne will discuss the current process for determining voting districts and changes they feel are needed to promote fair and effective representation with maximum opportunity for public scrutiny.
LWVCA President Roxanna Deane said that in 2016, 81 of the 150 Texas state House seats were uncontested. Sixty-six percent of the state legislature was determined before a single vote was cast.
“This means that citizens cannot hold these legislators accountable through the power of their vote,” she said. “Voting is our basic and fundamental right. We must ensure that our election maps reflect the will of the people, uphold the integrity of our vote, and the principle of one-person, one-vote.”
According to LWVCA, partisan battles over redistricting have occurred for decades. The current redistricting process gives the majority party the upper hand. Often, the minority party is shut out of the map-making process. Maps are drawn to ensure the reelection of incumbents, making it difficult for challengers.
In 2019, LWVTX urged the state’s 86th Legislature to support an autonomous, Independent Citizens Redestricting Commission, and a state redistricting process and standads that promote fair and effective representation.
