Fair Maps Texas invites you to take part in a discussion on outreach efforts to mobilize the public for the Texas Legislature’s upcoming public input hearings on redistricting.

Texas is beginning the process for the 2021 re-drawing of state and federal legislative districts. Starting in the fall of 2019, the Texas House Redistricting Committee is planning Public Input Hearings for the 2021 redistricting. Hearings are tentatively scheduled for North Texas as follows:

• Fort Worth, October 9, 2019
• Dallas, October 10, 2019
• Collin County, January 21, 2020
• Mid-Cities, January 22, 2020

To help prepare for the public hearings, the Redistricting Convening event is an opportunity for representatives of invited organizations to share and learn about the current and planned redistricting education and outreach being done in North Texas and discuss ways to coordinate those efforts. If your group has plans for such outreach, you are invited to share details about your efforts; if your group does not have any such plans, please come to listen, learn, and participate. Please RSVP at //lwvdallas [at] sbcglobal.net and let us know if your group will be sharing its plans.

Public comments at the hearings will be used to assist the Legislature when it draws district boundaries. Public testimony provides suggestions for improving the redistricting process and information about a region’s unique geographic and demographic characteristics from those residents most familiar with their own neighborhoods. Speaking up about your community is critical to ensuring district lines are drawn to keep your community whole and grouped with nearby communities with similar interests. This ensures that your voice is heard by your elected leaders across all kinds of government decisions.

We look forward to seeing you on August 27.