Texas Democrat Erin Zwiener Slams GOP Redistricting Maps for Dividing Hispanic Communities

Concerns Over New Redistricting Maps

• 📌 State Rep. Erin Zwiener criticizes new GOP redistricting maps, stating they silence voters and are not drawn by legislators.
• 💡 The primary concern is that the new map is ripping apart Congressional District 35, a performing Hispanic opportunity district along the I-35 corridor.

Impact on Hispanic Communities

• 💔 Historic Hispanic communities like Blanco Gardens and Victory Gardens in San Marcos are being folded into majority-white districts, effectively erasing their voice.
• 🗺️ Communities are being attached to counties with which they have little relationship, such as rural counties like Bandera and Gillespie, instead of remaining connected to the urbanizing I-35 corridor.
• 🏘️ Fast-growing communities like Buda and Kyle, with industries focused on tech and education, are being connected to more industrial communities on the Gulf Coast, ignoring shared interests.

Division of School Districts and Neighborhoods

• 🏫 School districts, such as San Marcos CISD, and even elementary school attendance zones are being split between multiple congressional districts.
• 📍 Neighborhoods that share relationships and even grocery stores, like Blanco Gardens and Blanco River Gardens, are being placed in different congressional districts.

Harm to Black Communities

• 👥 The maps also harm the Black community along the I-35 corridor, reducing the proportion of Black voting-age population in affected districts.
• 📉 Historic Black communities in San Marcos will have no ability to link their voices with other constituents who share their identity and history to influence electoral outcomes.

Call to Action

• 🚫 Zwiener urges legislators to vote no on the map, emphasizing that it marginalizes voices and destroys districts that have historically elevated people of color.
• ✅ The current Congressional District 35 was court-ordered to be a Hispanic opportunity district, and the proposed map disregards this order.