Rotten Boroughs, Political Thickets, and Legislative Donnybrooks: Redistricting in Texas

Published by University of Texas Press 2013

Rotten Boroughs, Political Thickets, and Legislative Donnybrooks

Redistricting in Texas

Edited by: Gary A. Keith

In the series Jack and Doris Smothers Series in Texas History, Life, and Culture

https://doi.org/10.7560/745407

Overview
Contents

About this book

Every ten years, the Texas legislature redistricts itself and the state’s congressional districts in an attempt to ensure equality in representation. With a richly textured cultural fabric, Texas often experiences redistricting battles that are heated enough to gain national attention. Collecting a variety of voices, including legislators themselves, in addition to lawyers, community organizers, political historians, and political scientists, Rotten Boroughs, Political Thickets, and Legislative Donnybrooks delivers a multidimensional picture of how redistricting works in Texas today, and how the process evolved.

In addition to editor Gary Keith’s historical narrative, which emphasizes the aftermath of the Warren Court’s redistricting decisions, longtime litigators David Richards and J. D. Pauerstein describe the contentious lines drawn from the 1970s into the 2000s. Former state legislator and congressman Craig Washington provides an insider’s view, while redistricting attorney and grassroots organizer Jose Garza describes the repercussions for Mexican Americans in Texas. Balancing these essays with a quantitative perspective, political scientists Seth McKee and Mark McKenzie analyze the voting data for the 2000 decade to describe the outcomes of redistricting. The result is a timely tour that provides up-to-date context, particularly on the role of the Voting Rights Act in the twenty-first century. From local community engagement to the halls of the Capitol, this is the definitive portrait of redistricting and its repercussions for all Texans.

Author / Editor information

Gary A. Keith is Associate Professor of Government and International Affairs at the University of the Incarnate Word. He has worked in the Texas legislature and for a statewide elected official. His previous books are Eckhardt: There Once Was a Congressman from Texas and Texas Politics and Government.

Reviews

A book that covers all bases, including the legal, political, and historical aspects of what the editor accurately describes as the ‘quintessential American game of politics.’ . . . The result is an interesting, even entertaining look at the process of redistricting and the way redistricting affects the everyday lives of Texans. It is the rare book that will appeal both to scholars and laypersons.

— Jerry Polinard, Professor of Political Science, University of Texas Pan American

The book has particular value because of the essays by major actors on the Texas political/legal scene—Richards, Washington, and Garza. Simply to have their recollections and analyses is a valuable contribution to the study of Texas politics, [and] McKee and McKenzie’s paper convincingly shows the effects of redistricting on congressional electoral outcomes.

— Anthony Champagne, Professor, School of Economics, Politics, and Policy Science, University of Texas at Dallas

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Preface Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
Acknowledgments Publicly Available Download PDF	xi
Acronyms Publicly Available Download PDF	xiii
Prologue: Scope and Methods Publicly Available Download PDF	xv
Introduction. The Prequel: Unequal Representation Gary A. Keith Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
1. Entering the Thicket: 1965 Gary A. Keith Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	11
2. Legislating in the Thicket Craig A. Washington Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	25
3. Litigating Texas Redistricting: A Democratic Lawyer’s Experience David R. Richards Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	41
4. Texas Redistricting: A Republican Lawyer’s Perspective J. D. Pauerstein Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	61
5. The Voting Rights Organizers José Garza Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	77
6. Analyzing Redistricting Outcomes Mark J. McKenzie and Seth C. McKee Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	95
Conclusion. Redistricting Redux: 2011 and Beyond Gary A. Keith Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	147
Epilogue: Navigating the Brambles of the Political Thicket Gary A. Keith Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	153
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	161
Sources Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	181
About the Contributors Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	191
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	195

Language: English
Publisher: University of Texas Press
Audience: General/trade;
Pages
- Main content: 224

eBook

Published: July 1, 2013
ISBN: 9780292745414