Texas governor approves state voting maps redrawn by GOP

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has signed redrawn voting maps that pave a safer path for the GOP’s slipping majority.

Abbott signed the maps Monday near the end of a highly charged year in Texas over voting rights.

Those maps keep most of Fort Bliss and the El Paso International Airport under the representation of Democratic Congresswoman Veronica Escobar. But Escobar loses some of Fort Bliss and far east El Paso to GOP Congressman Tony Gonzales in District 23, which stretches all the way to San Antonio.

Democrats say the maps disenfranchise Hispanic and Black voters who have driven the state’s exponential growth over the last decade. Civil rights are also asking courts to block the maps before they can be used in the 2022 midterm elections.

Abbott’s signature marks an end to the state’s one-in-a-decade redistricting process, in which lawmakers decide how Texas’ nearly 30 million residents are sorted into political districts.