Crockett joint session deadlocks on redistricting maps after tie vote

Officials at a joint meeting of the City of Crockett and the Crockett Independent School District failed to adopt a proposed redistricting map Monday after a tie vote left the issue unresolved.

Council and district officials presented two proposed maps, labeled Exhibit A and Exhibit B, intended to redraw single-member precinct boundaries using 2020 census data and to align city and school district lines with a prior court agreement stemming from the Barbara Jewell litigation. Staff said the changes were intended to reduce population deviation across precincts and to preserve minority opportunity districts required for Voting Rights Act compliance.

City staff cited population-deviation figures for the current and proposed maps: the council was told the prior measured deviation was near 9.63% under the existing plan and that adjustments would reduce that to about 8.93% under the proposed map. Attorneys and consultants said the maps create two African American majority districts and one additional minority-opportunity district, and noted recent Fifth Circuit guidance (the Galveston case) uses majority voting-age-population analysis when assessing Voting Rights Act compliance.

A motion to adopt Exhibit B was moved and seconded; during roll call the tally was reported as a 2–2 tie and no majority was reached. Council members and staff discussed waiting for absent members to return before taking a binding vote. One council member said that if the city does not reach consensus it will remain out of alignment with the school district’s recently adopted lines and that separate action by each taxing entity may be required.

Public comment at the start of the hearing included a statement by Reverend Scott, who referenced the Barbara Jewell case and asked that attorneys be given access to the proposed lines, warning that continued problems could lead to federal court action.

With no majority, the motion was left unresolved. Officials said the city’s lines remain out of sync with the school district until the councils reach a binding decision; they indicated they would attempt to reconvene or await absent members to secure a decisive vote.