The U.S. Supreme Court has affirmed that drawing political districts is by its nature a political activity that should be done by those most accountable to the voters - the elected representatives in the legislature.

Our representatives are holding a set of hearings across Texas in order to hear directly from constituents about what they should keep in mind as they perform this important service. There are organized efforts on the left to warp the process. Our legislators need encouragement and reinforcement from YOU.

PLEASE take the time to attend and testify at one of these hearings:

• Fort Worth (Weds. Oct 9 at 4 pm)

  • Tarrant County College Trinity River Campus

    Action Suites Main Building 4th Floor
  • 300 Trinity Campus Circle Fort Worth, TX 76102

• Dallas (Thurs. Oct. 10 at 4 pm)

  • Dallas City Hall, Council Chamber (6th floor)

    1500 Marilla St. Dallas, TX 75201

• Houston (Oct. 22 and Oct. 23)

• Corpus Christi (Nov. 4)

• Rockport (Nov. 5)

• Edinburg (Dec. 13)

• McAllen (Dec. 14)

Then share your thoughts. Here are some things to keep in mind / consider:

• “Communities of interest” should remain intact

  • Communities are defined by their values and common interests:

    • Water, farming, transportation routes and issues, education, voting patterns, current representation, local industry, etc. are all issues that unify a community

    • We appreciate the Texas Constitution’s “Whole County Rule” that minimizes splitting of House districts across counties and minimizes the splitting of counties between different districts

  • But there can be communities of interest across county lines - there are plenty of shared interests between counties around a major metropolitan area and those within the metro area - especially along major traffic routes and where a significant portion of a county’s residents travel to another county to work or conduct business

  • Any new map should fairly represent the voting patterns of Texas

• Texas is growing and so will likely gain three (3) congressional seats

  • Texas is growing in population and has several of the largest urban centers in the nation, but it is still overall predominantly rural and holds conservative values. Because we are doing things better, Texas is growing. California should follow our lead, not the other way around

• ​Thank you to the Redistricting Committee for ensuring transparency and input from the public

  • During the redistricting process it is important that the United States Constitution, Texas Constitution and the Voting Rights Act are followed. We know that once the data is in from the Census Bureau, there won’t be much time to draw maps

• The first obligation of our elected officials is and will always be to effectively represent the citizens of Texas as a whole

  • They were elected by the majority of the population, are uniquely accountable to the voters, and are the right ones to be trusted with this important task. As elected officials, they are capable of drawing maps to fairly represent the population and should be trusted to do so rather than outsourcing the task to a group unfamiliar with the communities of interest within Texas.

Please show up at one of these upcoming hearings - YOUR INPUT IS NEEDED!

For Texas,

James Dickey
Chairman 
Republican Party of Texas

P.S. Please share this with your friends and invite them to join you in giving testimony on this important issue!