Overview

Every ten years, the Texas legislature redistricts itself and the state's congressional districts in an attempt to ensure equality in representation. With a richly textured cultural fabric, Texas often experiences redistricting battles that are heated enough to gain national attention. Collecting a variety of voices, including legislators themselves, in addition to lawyers, community organizers, political historians, and political scientists, Rotten Boroughs, Political Thickets, and Legislative Donnybrooks delivers a multidimensional picture of how redistricting works in Texas today, and how the process evolved. In addition to editor Gary Keith's historical narrative, which emphasizes the aftermath of the Warren Court's redistricting decisions, longtime litigators David Richards and J. D. Pauerstein describe the contentious lines drawn from the 1970s into the 2000s. Former state legislator and congressman Craig Washington provides an insider's view, while redistricting attorney and grassroots organizer Jose Garza describes the repercussions for Mexican Americans in Texas. Balancing these essays with a quantitative perspective, political scientists Seth McKee and Mark McKenzie analyze the voting data for the 2000 decade to describe the outcomes of redistricting. The result is a timely tour that provides up-to-date context, particularly on the role of the Voting Rights Act in the twenty-first century. From local community engagement to the halls of the Capitol, this is the definitive portrait of redistricting and its repercussions for all Texans.

Full Product Details

Author:   Gary A. Keith
Publisher:   University of Texas Press
Imprint:   University of Texas Press
Dimensions:   Width: 14.00cm , Height: 1.80cm , Length: 21.60cm
Weight:   0.454kg
ISBN:  

9780292745407

ISBN 10:   0292745400
Pages:   224
Publication Date:   01 July 2013
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

Preface Acknowledgements Acronyms Prologue: Scope and Methods Introduction. The Prequel: Unequal Representation (Gary A. Keith) Chapter 1. Entering the Thicket: 1965 (Gary A. Keith) Chapter 2. Legislating in the Thicket (Craig A. Washington) Chapter 3. Litigating Texas Redistricting: A Democratic Lawyer's Experience (David R. Richards) Chapter 4. Texas Redistricting: A Republican Lawyer's Perspective (J. D. Pauerstein) Chapter 5. The Voting Rights Organizers (Jose Garza) Chapter 6. Analyzing Redistricting Outcomes (Seth C. McKee and Mark J. McKenzie) Conclusion. Redistricting Redux: 2011 and Beyond (Gary A. Keith) Epilogue: Navigating the Brambles of the Political Thicket (Gary A. Keith) Notes Bibliography About the Contributors Index

Reviews

"""Blending political reality with analytic rigor, this is an important contribution to redistricting scholarship."" - Choice"

Blending political reality with analytic rigor, this is an important contribution to redistricting scholarship. - Choice

Author Information

Gary A. Keith is Associate Professor of Government and International Affairs at the University of the Incarnate Word. He has worked in the Texas legislature and for a statewide elected official. His previous books are Eckhardt: There Once Was a Congressman from Texas and Texas Politics and Government.

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