Texans Rally at State Capitol Against Trump Takeover of Texas’ Political Maps

AUSTIN, Texas – Today, hundreds of Texans gathered in the rotunda of the Texas Capitol to fight back against Gov. Greg Abbott and President Donald Trump’s plan to rig our maps and lock in their political power. 

LIVESTREAM: Texas Capitol Rotunda Rally

In Texas, Republican partisan gerrymandering is racial gerrymandering. The proposed redistricting effort comes amid ongoing legal challenges by civil rights groups to Texas’s illegal gerrymander in the 2021 congressional and legislative maps.

“I’ve been visiting this Capitol for 35 years, but I have never seen more of a sham process than what they’re trying to do today,” said Rick Levy, president of the Texas AFL-CIO. “To the Republicans: Stand up to this tyranny. You know it’s wrong. To the Democrats: This is a fight for the soul of our country. Know that you need to do everything you can, by any means necessary, to put Texans first.”

“Greg Abbott is letting Trump take over Texas,” said Drucilla Tigner, executive director of Texas For All. “With this redistricting scheme, they’re trying to suppress the votes of Black and Brown folks across our state. Why? Because Trump knows he’s in trouble — so he wants to rig the rules to keep himself and his billionaire buddies in power.” 

Abbott could release flood response funding immediately with the stroke of a pen. Instead, this redistricting scheme is his focus for this special session. 

If Texans are unable to join in-person in Austin, they can write a letter to their representatives here. A livestream of the Texas House Select Committee on Redistricting hearing is available at house.texas.gov/videos.

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