A panel of federal judges in San Antonio proposed new redistricting maps for the Texas Senate and the Texas House late Thursday, asking for comments by noon on Friday. They're trying to finish maps before candidates start filing on November 28 — a date set by the court. Full Story
Rick Perry's "oops" moment was costly in our survey of political and government insiders, and we also took soundings on third-party candidates, court-drawn political maps, and the strength of the Tea Party. Full Story
Next year's congressional and legislative elections in Texas will probably be conducted using political maps drawn by federal judges instead of those drawn by lawmakers. Full Story
The redrawing of political district lines — which ideally happens just once a decade after a federal census — could create a series of crazy election cycles for Texas voters and candidates. It happened in the 1990s, and it could happen again now. Full Story
The federal redistricting panel in San Antonio is sharpening its crayons and asking the pack of lawyers in that case to make suggestions about corrective maps. Full Story
Aaronson on the shrinking of state government, Aguilar on the controversy over in-state tuition for the children of undocumented immigrants, Galbraith on Rick Perry vs. the EPA, Grissom on a startling development in a 25-year-old murder case, Hamilton on Ken Starr's first year as president of Baylor, Ramsey on what inmates have to do with redistricting, Ramshaw on the state's crisis in insurance coverage, Root on Perry's presidential grind dance and Smith on obstacles to addressing childhood obesity: The best of our best content from Sept. 26-30, 2011. Full Story
Texas prison inmates can’t vote, so most counties ignore them. But they can change the value of your votes for Congress and the state Legislature. Full Story
The state probably won't have political maps for federal and state legislators until November and possibly December, crowding the filing-fundraising-campaigning cycle into the holidays and perilously close to the March primaries. Full Story
State officials in Texas can hold off on election preparations, a federal court said Thursday, but with Texas' political maps still in limbo, they also didn't get a new set of deadlines to help them get ready for the 2012 elections. Full Story
The Justice Department didn't find fault (put an asterisk here) with the Senate and State Board of Education redistricting maps from Texas, but told a federal court in Washington, DC, that it thinks the maps for the congressional delegation and for the Texas House go backwards in minority representation. Full Story
General elections in Texas will be less competitive than ever under the redistricting maps approved by the Legislature earlier this year. The political threats to incumbents, if any, will come in primaries and not in general elections. Full Story
The U.S. Justice Department said Monday that new political maps for the Texas House and the state's congressional delegation don't protect the electoral power of the state's minority populations as required by the federal Voting Right Act. Full Story
General elections in Texas will be less competitive than ever under the redistricting maps approved by the Legislature earlier this year. The takeaway is simple: Texas has a strongly Republican map and the political threats to incumbents, if any, will come in primaries and not in general elections. Full Story
Lots of things affect election outcomes. Candidates. Money. Issues. Surprises. But some of the results are wired into district maps, through redistricting. Here's our charting of the political atmosphere — Republican or Democratic — in each of the House, Senate and congressional districts drawn by the Legislature this year. Full Story
Don't expect a redistricting ruling out of San Antonio quickly. Some of the lawyers — and this requires more lawyers than a Hollywood divorce — say the Texas judges might hold their ruling until the DC courts are finished. That could be November, or even December. Full Story
The state's new political maps are now in the hands of the federal government. An army of lawyers lined up before the start of federal hearings on Tuesday, lugging boxes of papers and briefcases bulging with the scribbled notes and other arguments they'll present over the next two weeks. Full Story
Because — as both Democrats and Republicans know well — the drawing of congressional, legislative and State Board of Education district lines determines, to a large extent, the outcomes of future elections. Full Story
Aaronson analyzes TWIA claims and lawyer fees, Aguilar talks border security and voter ID with Chuy Hinojosa, Grissom on the latest inmate exonerated via DNA evidence, Hamilton interviews John Sharp on higher ed and the SEC, Murphy interactively maps the changes wrought by redistricting, Philpott on who's running Texas while Rick Perry is out campaigning for president, Ramsey on Perry's history of off-the-cuff remarks, Ramshaw on Perry's childhood years in Paint Creek, Root on Perry's extraordinary first week on the trail and Tan on even more ways Texas will change on Sept. 1: The best of our best content from Aug. 15-19, 2011. Full Story
As the last legislative session demonstrated, the governor has a failing record on issues important to Latinos, including public education, expanded pre-K, college access, redistricting and immigration. Full Story