Drawing wonky lines on a map is normally reserved for elementary social studies classes.

But these past few weeks, that’s exactly what lawmakers in the Texas Legislature have been doing as they attempt to redraw Texas districts before the upcoming 2026 midterms.

What is redistricting?

Redistricting refers to the drawing – or redrawing – the lines that determine the boundaries of districts for elections and typically occurs once every 10 years in response to the decennial census, as a way to ensure that voters are equitably distributed across districts and equally represented.

Over the years, though, redistricting has gotten more and more partisan, giving rise to  gerrymandering. Gerrymandering refers to the phenomenon of determining district boundaries with the goal of amplifying a certain party or demographic group’s voters, or diluting the voice of other, not-so-beneficial voter blocs – something both parties have been found guilty of many times.

It’s important to note that the Senate remains unaffected by redistricting – or attempted gerrymandering, since senators are elected in a popular vote across the state. Representatives to the House, while still elected through a popular vote, are much more susceptible to gerrymandering, since each representative is elected directly from a specific district, causing the makeup of that district to be key in determining the outcome of a house race.

Why has this attempt to redistrict been so controversial?

Unlike attempts at redistricting in previous years, Texas’ effort at redistricting has been significantly more partisan and political. In the map now officially approved by the Texas Senate, Republicans would likely gain five additional seats in the House, bringing the Republicans up to 224 seats in the House and strengthening their majority.

The effort to redraw Texas’ congressional districts began in the start of the summer, allegedly as a response to multiple calls from the White House to Texas leaders urging state leaders to push for redistricting in preparation for the 2026 midterms. This belief was somewhat corroborated by a CNBC interview with President Donald Trump where the president discussed gerrymandering and the number of votes he received in Texas, among other topics.

“We have an opportunity in Texas to pick up five seats,” Trump said in the CNBC “Squawk Box” interview. “We have a really good governor, and we have good people in Texas. And I won Texas. I got the highest vote in the history of Texas, as you probably know, and we are entitled to five more seats.”

As efforts to redraw the map began, Texas Democrats fled to Illinois to prevent the formation of a quorum. A quorum refers to the minimum number of members a body – from the Texas legislature to local government bodies, like our very own FISD Board of Trustees – needs to be able to make official decisions on issues. By leaving the state, Texas Democrats left the rest of the legislature without the numbers they legally needed to convene as a body and vote on the new map of congressional districts.

But after weeks of potentially facing hefty fines for breaking quorum, orders from Texas Governor Greg Abbott for their arrests, bomb threats, and repeated threats from Abbott to press criminal charges (potentially including bribery, for “solicit[ing] funds during their absence”),  Texas Democrats eventually returned to their home state, allowing the vote to progress.

As expected, the new congressional maps were successfully passed by the Texas Senate and, at the time of this article’s writing (Monday), are set to travel to the governor’s desk to be signed into law.

But, the challenge doesn’t stop with the passage of the maps. Texas Republicans still face two major roadblocks: California and the courts.

First and foremost, California. Like Texas, California is one of the most populous states in the nation, making it a powerhouse when it comes to House elections and determining the balance of powers in the Capitol. Unlike Texas, though, California is a decidedly blue state. 

In response to what many Californian Democrats – including California governor Gavin Newsom – view as a solidly partisan effort at redistricting, California has also proposed its own new map of congressional districts, which – if passed – would add five Democrat seats to the House of Representatives. However, Newsom has promised to abandon the redistricting plans, if Texas reciprocates.

The other major challenge Texas Republicans face in implementing this new map are the courts. Or rather, the people.

Within hours of the passage of the newly drawn map, 13 Texas residents – known as “the Gonzalez plaintiffs,” according to the Texas Tribune – filed a 67-page lawsuit against Abbott and Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson, arguing that the new districts were racially discriminatory and violated the Equal Protection Clause found in the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Alleged gerrymandering tactics used in designing the new districts include “packing” traditionally Democratic voters into left-leaning districts in Houston or Dallas, and “cracking” more liberal communities to split and dilute their vote, according to the Texas Tribune.

Despite their passage, the battle over Texas’ congressional districts continues to rage. Only time will determine whether congressional districts in the Lone Star state will remain the same or will change to reflect this new legislation.