AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – A review finds that while a record-setting number of Hispanics are seated in the Texas Legislature, the racial breakdown of the Legislature does not accurately reflect the diversity of the state’s general population.
An Austin American-Statesman analysis of the Legislature’s demographics shows that in 1991, Latinos made up 14% of lawmakers and slightly more than a quarter of the state’s population.
The newspaper reports that by 2017, Latinos represented around a quarter of the Texas Legislature, but nearly 40% of the state’s population.
The newest representative, Democrat Ray Lopez of San Antonio, won a special election last month and was sworn in as the 38th Hispanic lawmaker in the Texas House.
Asian Americans are also underrepresented in the Legislature. African American lawmakers have closed the gap in the House, but in the Senate their numbers still lag behind the percentage of African Americans statewide.
Experts say reasons for the inadequate representation include gerrymandering and cynicism with the political process.
The paper says that last year, “the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Republican-led Legislature improperly gerrymandered a Fort Worth-area House district by race to help a white Democrat stay in office. However, the court ruled 5-4 that a three-judge panel erred when it tossed out eight other House districts and two congressional districts, including one in Travis County, for intentionally discriminating against minority voters, who tend to favor Democrats, or for using race to improperly gerrymander political boundaries.”
(Associated Press)