In the shadow of Texas limits on voting rights and lessons about race in school, Juneteenth celebrates Black history, progress and families
Amid a rise in conservative efforts opposed to teaching the lingering impacts of slavery and racism, the descendants of formerly enslaved people are using the Juneteenth holiday to educate younger generations.
A GOP power grab shatters 30 years of political progress for Black voters in Galveston County
Republicans dismantled the only Galveston County commissioners precinct in which voters of color held political clout. Itโs a major blow for Black and Hispanic voters who had been building political momentum.
Analysis: Gerrymandering has left Texas voters with few options
Texans who donโt vote in primaries and primary runoffs are missing a chance to choose who goes to Congress and the Texas Legislature. Thanks to the political maps drawn by lawmakers last year, only a handful of those contests will be competitive in November.
Analysis: Texans without high-speed internet are getting closer, slowly
Like other states, Texas found out during the pandemic how critical high-speed broadband is for school, work and medicine. And the state is working to expand it โ but itโs going to be at least a year before Texans start to see results.
Texas is quietly using redistricting lawsuits to launch a broader war against federal voting rights law
As Texas defends against accusations that its new political maps are discriminatory, itโs laying the groundwork to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to throw out longstanding Voting Rights Act protections.
Federal judge says Waller County voting process did not discriminate against Black college students
A group of students at Prairie View A&M University sued the county, claiming it set up an election schedule in 2018 that offered students โ most of them Black โ fewer opportunities to vote early than the countyโs white residents.
Texasโ child welfare agency ordered to investigate trans kidsโ families has been in crisis for years
The Department of Family and Protective Services has been under federal court monitoring for over a decade for violating the civil rights of kids in foster care. Now, the short-staffed agency has to investigate parents who provide their children with gender-affirming care.
Republicans more than doubled turnout in the Rio Grande Valley compared with the last midterm primary
Democrats in the region still had higher turnout, but Republicans celebrated the narrowing of the gap. Despite the improvement, nearly 87% of registered voters in the Rio Grande Valley did not vote in the primary, similar to the rate in 2018.
Analysis: Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and the power of Us vs. Them
A week into early voting in the Texas party primaries, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick launched his latest culture-war volley, an attack on college professors whose teachings about race donโt match his notions about what they should be teaching.
Federal judges wonโt halt Texas primary in state Senate district being challenged for alleged discrimination
The redrawn state Senate District 10 splits Black and Hispanic voters in Tarrant County. A full trial on whether GOP lawmakers intentionally discriminated against voters of color is expected later this year.
โThey are us. Thereโs no distinctionโ: Terror of synagogue standoff is no isolated incident to Texas Jewish leaders
News of Congregation Beth Israel hostages' safe escape is met with intense relief, but communities feel pain and fear over the latest in a series of antisemitic attacks and incidents in Texas and beyond.
2021 Texas politics in photos: An insurrection, legislative battles and emerging campaigns
Texas politics in 2021 were marked by a violent insurrection at the nationโs Capitol and state legislative fights over abortion, voting rights and redistricting. Our photojournalists were there every step of the way.
Opportunity was snatched away from Dallas County Latino communities when Texas Republicans redrew congressional maps
Dallas-area Latinos hoped their growing numbers would finally translate into political clout this year through the creation of a new congressional district anchored by their communities. Instead, their neighborhoods were splintered between numerous white-majority districts.
Analysis: From homegrown culture warriors to tomorrowโs Texas leaders
Republicans in Austin have been after local governments for years, pushing aside local laws and rules on a long list of issues where local and state powers overlap. Now they're recruiting fellow Republicans for local offices, to try to change things at the ground level.
Congressional gerrymandering by Texas Republicans cut out the heart of Houstonโs Asian community
Asian and Pacific Islander populations surged in Texas over the past decade, but their political power is weakened under new congressional maps. A northwest Houston neighborhood offers a case study in how that was done.
Texas Democrats rely on voters of color to be competitive. So why are their top statewide candidates mostly white?
The GOP slate for statewide office includes two high-profile Latinos and two Black candidates who have previously held state or federal office. Republicans are making a play to be more competitive with voters of color as the stateโs electorate grows more diverse.
Among El Pasoans, Beto OโRourkeโs gubernatorial run excites loyal fans and revives longtime grudges
El Pasoans who have followed OโRourkeโs political career are excited about his run for governor. But his critics still remember his support of a development plan that could have displaced Mexican American residents from one of the cityโs oldest barrios.
Texans John Cornyn and Ted Cruz join GOP senators to block voting rights bill that would have protected voters of color
In a final push to secure federal voting rights legislation this year, congressional Democrats failed to secure the necessary votes to avoid a GOP filibuster on the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.
Restrictions on transgender student athletesโ participation in school sports signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott
House Bill 25 will require student athletes who compete in interscholastic competition to play on sports teams that correspond with the sex listed on their birth certificate at or near their time of birth.
Gov. Greg Abbott signs off on Texasโ new political maps, which protect GOP majorities while diluting voices of voters of color
Texas lawmakers drew new maps for the state House and Senate, congressional delegation and State Board of Education. Hereโs what Texans should know about the 2021 redistricting outcomes.
Republicans say Texasโ new political maps are โrace blind.โ To some voters of color, that translates as political invisibility.
With partisan fervor, Republicans drew new maps for Congress and the Legislature that dilute the power of voters of color. Now the lawsuits begin, as groups that feel marginalized battle for representation in the halls of power.
Texas Republicans send Gov. Greg Abbott a new congressional map that protects GOP power, reduces influence of voters of color
After a few last-minute alterations, the state's new congressional districts are drawn and await the scrutiny of federal courts. Already, one lawsuit has been filed claiming the new maps intentionally discriminate against Latino voters.
With surgical precision, Republicans draw two congressional districts that dilute power of Hispanic and Asian voters
The GOP is losing its hold on suburbs of Dallas and Fort Worth as they grow more diverse. Two new districts show how far the party is reaching to entrench rural, white electoral power.