Texas State Sen. Borris Miles is not holding his breath for a miracle in the state’s ongoing redistricting battle.
Speaking to the Defender from Chicago, where he traveled to support House Democrats who fled Texas to break quorum during a special session, Miles said he’s keeping “faith and fight” alive, but knows the math is stacked against Democratic lawmakers.
“I’m still optimistic, but I know the numbers,” Miles said. “If things go down party lines…this will become law.”
The Republican-led Legislature is pushing through a new congressional map that Democrats call a mid-decade redistricting attempt designed to flip five seats in the Republicans’ favor. In the heart of the controversy are Congressional Districts 9, 18, 29 and 33.
Miles calls it “RIG-DISTRICTING” and views it as a “racist takeover.”
In early August, House Democrats broke quorum when House Republicans unveiled the redistricting plan for the state’s 38 U.S. House districts. Their protest was met with arrest threats, a $500 daily fine and Gov. Greg Abbott’s promise of more special sessions.
Now, the Texas Senate has approved similar congressional lines, prompting a walkout by Democratic Senators in solidarity with their “House Democratic brothers and sisters.”
But in the Texas Senate, breaking quorum is not an option as it needs 14 members to be present (two-thirds of the 21 members). Democrats hold 11 seats, Republicans 19.
A walkout in protest
On the day the Senate took up the redistricting bill, Miles and eight other Democratic senators walked out in protest, following his earlier committee vow not to vote for the map. While the bill passed the Senate without their votes, Miles said their action was about drawing a line.
“We [nine Democratic State Senators] decided that we would not take part in it,” Miles explained. “It’s illegal. It’s a violation of civil rights and the Voting Rights Act…The bill still passed in the Senate, but thank God to my House colleagues who are here in Chicago…they have been strong and steadfast.”
Miles traveled to Chicago to encourage them to hold out.
A pattern decades in the making
For Miles, this is not just about one map. He said Texas has a 25-year history of passing racially discriminatory maps later struck down in court, only to be repeated.
“But they continue to attempt to suppress African American votes in the state of Texas,” Miles said. “We should be widening our voices [Black and brown voters] in the Texas legislature and the Texas Congress…which means we should have more representation.”
The proposed changes include shifting Congressional District 9 from southwest Houston to the city’s northeast and packing 70% of District 9’s population into District 18, the historic seat once held by U.S. Reps. Barbara Jordan, Mickey Leland and Sheila Jackson Lee. Miles argues that this would result in the dismantling of protected districts for Black and Latino voters through “cracking and packing” techniques.
The new map would make Senate District 13, Miles’ seat, more heavily African American.
Mobilization of the Democratic base
Miles believes the fight in Texas is part of a larger, coordinated effort to restrict minority voting power nationwide. He sees Democrats uniting in religious, fraternal and civil rights groups.
“The country is starting to wake up…we made it very clear that if it could be happening in Texas today, tomorrow it may be your state,” he said.
“Let’s show them by going to the polls. If we’re gonna fight, let our ballots be our guns.”
Texas State Sen. Borris Miles
Even if the maps pass, Miles believes high turnout could blunt their impact. He urged residents to treat the situation like a modern-day Edmund Pettus Bridge moment, a reference to the pivotal Selma civil rights march.
“It’s now or never. If not you, the community, then who? And if not now, then when?” he said.
The stakes are not just political but personal. House Democrats are being fined $500 per day for breaking quorum and groups helping them, like former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke’s Powered by People, have faced lawsuits from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Miles pointed out that state lawmakers make just $600 a month, calling the prolonged special sessions “taxing” on families, businesses and communities.
While he admits the numbers are against them, Miles insists voters must keep fighting. Governors of other states, like California, are planning to proceed with their own redistricting plans to combat Texas’ attempt to control the House majority in the midterms.
“Let’s show them by going to the polls,” he said. “If we’re gonna fight, let our ballots be our guns.”
