In a year already marked by fierce political battles, the debate over redistricting and the U.S. census has once again taken center stage, with Texas and Tennessee emerging as flashpoints in a broader national struggle over how—and by whom—America’s electoral maps are drawn. The latest round of conflict, fueled by former President Donald Trump’s calls for a new census and a Republican-led push to redraw congressional boundaries before the 2026 midterm elections, has sparked legal, political, and constitutional questions that reach far beyond state lines.
On August 4, 2025, the Texas Capitol was thrown into chaos as dozens of Democratic lawmakers fled the state to block a Republican-led vote on redistricting. Their departure denied the Texas House the quorum needed to approve a controversial plan that could give Republicans five additional congressional seats. According to USA TODAY, more than 50 of Texas’ 67 Democratic legislators had left by August 5, traveling as far as Chicago, Boston, and Albany to avoid arrest. Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, responded by ordering their arrest and issuing civil arrest warrants. However, as USA TODAY noted, these warrants apply only within Texas, leaving their enforcement in doubt.
Former President Barack Obama did not mince words about the GOP’s efforts, calling the redistricting move “a power grab that undermines our democracy.” Democratic lawmakers echoed this sentiment, labeling the plan a “threat to democracy.” The Republican State Leadership Committee, for its part, accused the absent legislators of “neglecting their responsibility.” The standoff in Texas quickly became a national story, with Democratic governors in states like California, New York, and Illinois signaling their own redistricting initiatives to bolster Democratic representation, further escalating partisan tensions.
At the heart of the dispute is the process of redistricting itself. Redistricting occurs every ten years after the U.S. Census, as states redraw the boundaries of congressional and legislative districts to reflect population changes. In the U.S., this process is largely controlled by state legislatures, making it a highly political—and often contentious—exercise. According to the Bipartisan Policy Center, redistricting has been “highly contentious” throughout American history, often leading to accusations of gerrymandering and public distrust.
But this time, the battle is not just about where the lines are drawn—it’s about who gets counted in the first place. On August 7, 2025, President Trump took to social media to call for a “new” census that would exclude people living in the U.S. without legal status. The move was unprecedented, as the 14th Amendment of the Constitution requires the “whole number of persons in each state” to be counted for apportionment purposes. Trump’s proposal quickly found support among some Republican lawmakers, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Rep. Randy Fine of Florida, who introduced bills seeking a new census and redistricting before the 2026 elections. However, as reported by NPR, these bills have garnered little support and remain stuck in committee.
The legal and logistical hurdles are substantial. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who oversees the Census Bureau, acknowledged at a town-hall event on August 12, 2025, that Congress—not the president—has the final authority over the census count. Lutnick also suggested that the census should differentiate between people living in the U.S. without legal status and other residents, stating, “If a person has broken into the country, they need to be counted in the census, but they should be counted as someone who has broken into the country,” according to three Census Bureau employees cited by NPR. Yet, he reaffirmed during his Senate confirmation hearing in February, “Since the first sentence of the 14th Amendment of that clause says we will count each whole person, I promise you we will count each whole person. That’s what the Constitution says. And we will stick right to it rigorously.”
Legal experts and census professionals have dismissed the feasibility of conducting a new census before 2026. Planning for the next decennial census, scheduled for 2030, began six years ago, and it typically takes more than a decade to prepare for a national head count. Title 13 of the U.S. Code allows for a mid-decade census, but not for the purposes of reapportioning House seats. The deadline to prepare for such a count has already passed, making a 2025 or 2026 census virtually impossible, according to experts cited by NPR.
Despite these obstacles, the push for a new census has not abated. On August 11, 2025, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, a former Trump administration official, proposed that states receive new shares of House seats before the 2026 midterms based on a “recount” in areas believed to have been miscounted in 2020. He also suggested “correcting” census data used to allocate federal funding, though the Census Bureau’s own researchers have raised concerns about the reliability of such estimates. “We are energized by President Trump’s leadership, and we look forward to hearing from you and working together to resolve these issues,” Uthmeier wrote in a letter to Lutnick.
Not everyone is convinced that this flurry of census activity is a good idea. The Census Project, a coalition of more than 800 organizations, issued a statement warning that “diverting funding, personnel, and other resources away from 2030 Census preparations potentially jeopardizes the conduct of the next constitutionally-required decennial census. Further, conducting a new or mid-decade census threatens ongoing research and testing needed to ensure the 2030 Census is inclusive, cost-effective, and accurate.”
Meanwhile, Tennessee offers a sobering example of the stakes involved in redistricting. After the 2020 census, Tennessee retained its nine U.S. House seats, but in February 2022, Governor Bill Lee signed new congressional maps into law that split Davidson County—home to Nashville—into three separate districts. According to The Tennessean, this move diluted Democratic and minority voting power. Former U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper, a Democrat from Nashville, called the redistricting a “crisis” for the city, warning, “Gerrymandering is an extinction event for the political life of Nashville.” A lawsuit challenging the maps on grounds of racial gerrymandering was dismissed by a three-judge panel in August 2024, as reported by the Nashville Banner.
The ongoing battles in Texas, Tennessee, and Washington, D.C., reveal just how high the stakes are when it comes to who draws the lines—and who gets counted. As lawmakers, courts, and advocacy groups continue to spar over these foundational questions, the answers will shape not just the next election, but the very nature of American democracy for years to come.
