For this assessment, you will visit this link from the Texas Tribune: Travel across this gerrymandered district in TX and then read the following articles.

For this assessment, you will visit this link from the Texas Tribune: Travel across this gerrymandered district in TX and then read the following articles.  Once completed, answer the questions below.  

TX Redistricting: What is it and how it impacts you in 2021

With Census Bureau delays, Texas Legislative Council says a special session might be called in summer for redistricting

• What is redistricting?  What role does the census play in redistricting? Explain the difference between redistricting and gerrymandering.
• How is the 2020 census expected to change the landscape of Texas politics?
• What occurred in 2013 which may change the way Texas redistricts our state? Could this lead to increased gerrymandering?  Why or why not?
• We are seeing census delays as a result of the pandemic.  How might these delays impact the 87th Texas Legislative session, and potentially, the 2022 election cycle in Texas?
• As a citizen or resident of Texas, what do you think of the politicizing of districts in an effort to garner votes from specific types of people (race, ethnicity, gender, political party affiliation, etc)?
• What are your over all thoughts and impressions about this issue? Should the politicians be taken completely out of the redistricting procedure, in an effort to maintain a bit more fairness or is the current system working?  Why or why not?

Then, respond to this answer, (250 words)

Redistricting takes place every 10 years, it is the process of redrawing electoral district boundaries. The maps remain valid for about 10 years, every 10 years a U.S. census is ordered to count all the residents in the country. From the results, the governments use that information to get new ideas and to use that data towards the new maps. That is how they keep count of the votes. What sets apart redistricting and gerrymandering would be the purpose of the two, the purpose of redistricting is to reflect voter representation while gerrymandering only favors the people who are part of the election violating the rights of and the benefits of the residents of the U.S.

Texas has become more populated as the years have gone by. The 2020 census has expected to change after the population has increased, the Texas population has increased at a faster pace than any other state in the United States. Coming close to 4 million people since, but since COVID-19 occurred it has affected numbers drastically. Different areas won’t be represented due to the number of voters decreasing from the cause of COVID-19.

In 2013 the supreme court removed the Voting Rights Act, this would occur to new district lines without having to be approved by the supreme court. This could lead to the act of gerrymandering, politicians would have more control district lines to benefit from their campaigns. This would make it easier for officials to win by creating districts. 

Due to the pandemic, there has been a major delay in the census, which will affect the 87th Texas legislative session by impacting the data which would occur in making it difficult for legislators to elect electoral district boundaries. Causing any other election to be affected due to the virus from decreasing the population and also causing fear people to go out to vote. For the election in 2022, it will have more people vote than expected but it won’t be the same as before covid.

As a citizen of the United States, I believe that politicizing districts in an effort to garner votes is a big issue because it is just causing people of specific groups to fear to vote. It should definitely be an issue that needs to be resolved because everybody should able to believe in what they want to believe.