Texas primary date change?
A reader has asked about the status of the bill to change the date of the Texas primary to allow more time to pass and preclear the re-redistricting. I can't find such a bill on the legislature's website. If anyone knows, please email me.
Comments
The Texas 2004 primary has not yet been changed, since the runaway Democrats were forced to come back to the Legislature after Whitmire's defection from their ranks. Their earlier-than-planned return makes the change unnecessary at this point.
In any case, the DOJ will likely provide a relatively quick preclearance review to any plan produced since this is past the heavy-traffic year for post-census redistricting.
There are a couple of housekeeping election bills (HB 1 and SB 3) moving through the Legislature, which, I suppose, could be amended to change primary election dates, if necessary, before the current session closes.
Posted by: A. J. Pate | September 26, 2003 9:50 AM