The big picture
The decision came after over two hours of public comment and debate during a July 8 Fort Bend County Commissioners Court meeting, where a 3-2 vote approved the creation of the committee, which will allow the public to advise the court on redistricting. Precinct 2 Commissioner Grady Prestage and Precinct 4 Commissioner Dexter McCoy cast the dissenting votes.
Each commissioner will appoint two members to the committee, with Fort Bend County Judge KP George appointing the chair of the committee, according to agenda documents.
Commissioners also approved a contract with legal firm Rogers, Morris & Grove LLP to provide legal advice for precinct redistricting, which was last redrawn in 2021 following the release of data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The next required redistricting is slated for 2031.
The backstory
The move comes after several debates about how to draw county voter precincts this year, following a letter from state Rep. Matt Morgan, R-Richmond, saying 37 of 174 of the county’s voter precincts during the November election did not meet state population requirements. In the letter, he urged commissioners to take immediate action to “uphold the integrity of the electoral process.”
State law requires counties with populations over 100,000 to contain no less than 100 and no more than 5,000 voters in each precinct. April data from the county’s election administrative office shows 33 of the county’s 174 precincts sit above the 5,000-voter threshold, while five precincts had below 100 voters.
The data showed the noncompliant voting precincts spanned the commissioner precincts with:
- 12 in Precinct 1
- Eight in Precinct 2
- Seven in Precinct 3
- 11 in Precinct 4
What they’re saying
Precinct 1 Commissioner Vincent Morales and Precinct 3 Commissioner Andy Meyers said they believe the county could be sued without action to get the voter precincts back in compliance.
“I will tell you, the state legislators, our state reps, are watching,” Morales said. “We’ve got to get this right, we’ve got to make sure it is within the legal bounds. Otherwise, we’re going to get sued anyway.”
However, McCoy said approving a new map could open the county up to lawsuits similar to Petteway v. Galveston County, which saw the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals reverse a four-decade-long precedent that allows racial and ethnic groups to aggregate their populations in cases of Voting Rights Act violations.
The current map, which cost approximately $1 million to draw, has not had any lawsuits brought against it since its adoption in 2021, McCoy said.
McCoy instead recommended that the money be spent on an $8 million project aimed at protecting the Fort Bend Justice Center from erosion deterioration.
“We’re taking action based on an opinion from a lawyer that’s hired by [Meyers], that to me is not a judgment from a lawyer to say anything about our maps is illegal,” McCoy said. “It is dangerous to sit up here and lie and say that.”
Although the contract was ultimately approved, County Attorney Bridgette Smith-Lawson said she advised against hiring Rogers, Morris & Grove, telling commissioners she has no “verified proof of their skill or ability in redistricting counties.”
The county previously used Allison, Bass & Magee LLP in 2021—which Meyers said no longer does redistricting work—and Brazil & Dunn LLP for redistricting efforts.
Looking ahead
Community Impact reached out to Fort Bend County officials to learn more about the timeline for the committee and redistricting budget, but information was not returned by press time.
