LegeLand: Redistricting Takes Shape

Central Texas Population by County, 2010

The U.S. Census Bureau released the detailed, block-by-block population information last week that legislators will use to redraw political boundaries for the next decade. The numbers confirmed what previous estimates suggested: Texas' population has grown enormously along the I-35 corridor and in the Houston suburbs, while much of West Texas is depopulating. That presents an interesting dilemma for map-drawers: Rather than simply shifting lines out west from underpopulated districts into adjacent overpopulated ones, lawmakers will be faced with expanding underpopulated districts surrounded by yet more underpopulated ones. In Travis County, we can probably forget about expanding from six state reps to seven: Surprisingly, Districts 48, 49, and 51 are actually underpopulated, so most likely we'll just see some line-shifting within the county. The biggest challenge: figuring out where to squeeze in the four new congressional districts that Texas picked up. For an interactive county-by-county map, see www.2010.census.gov/2010census/data. For detailed district maps, see www.tlc.state.tx.us/redist/redist.html. And for more background on redistricting, see "Painting by Numbers,"
Jan. 28.