Time to fix redistricting is now

Eagle Editorial Board

Well, here we are. Feb. 12 and the timing of the state's party primaries still is undecided. Deadlines for fixing congressional and legislative districts drawn by state lawmakers last year have come and gone. Compromises have been reached and then rejected hours later.

Candidates aren't sure when they will face the voters, which voters they will face -- and just who their opponents will be.

County election officials are unsure how to proceed.

Texas politics always have been rough and tumble and, truth be told, a bit bizarre. But this year has taken on a surreal tone.

Originally scheduled for March 6, the Republican and Democratic primaries had to be moved to April 3 because of complaints that the new state legislative and federal House districts cut minority voting strength. For now, Texas remains under guidelines that require it to get clearance from the U.S. Depart-ment of Justice any time district boundaries are moved.

Several minority groups filed suit against the districts drawn by the Republican-controlled Legislature after the 2010 Census awarded Texas four additional House seats in Congress. A three-member federal court panel in San Antonio agreed with the plaintiffs and redrew the district boundaries.

The state appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which threw out the map drawn by the San Antonio court, but declined to reinstate the maps drawn by the Legislature. The high court sent the case back to San Antonio, instructing those judges to more closely follow the will of state lawmakers.

For now, the San Antonio court is waiting for talks between the state and the minority groups to reach a mutually acceptable conclusion.

It appears that the rescheduled April 3 primary election date will have to be moved once again, possibly to later in April. One local candidate for office told us he thinks the primaries will be in June.

When the primaries are rescheduled, the court is likely to order the filing periods for the Legislature and Congress reopened, at least for a short time. It is possible that new candidates will file for those positions.

Meanwhile, candidates aren't sure how long they will have to campaign, how much money they need to raise and spend and just who will be on the ballot with them.

And, local officials across the state are preparing the best they can for an election to be held ... well, some time in the future. It is hard to recruit election judges when they do not know what day they are supposed to be available. Questions of time of early voting and deadlines for mailed ballots go unanswered.

There has to be a better way to draw new legislative and congressional districts that still reflects the will of the Legislature but still protects minority voting rights. Perhaps lawmakers should look into the matter soon, rather than wait until after the 2020 Census -- when, if nothing is done, Texas voters will be held hostage to the whims of the politicians elected to serve them.