Texas's at-large congressional seat
Texas's at-large congressional district | |
---|---|
Obsolete district | |
Created | 1870 1910 1930 1950 1960 |
Eliminated | 1875 1919 1935 1959 1967 |
Years active | 1873–1875 1913–1919 1933–1935 1953–1959 1963–1967 |
Texas has had at-large congressional seats at various times in its history. It was often the case when the state received new congressional seats as a result of
History of at-large seats
From its admission to the Union in 1845, Texas has had single-member congressional districts; the first congressional delegation consisted of two House members from single-member districts. This remained the case until after the
The
After the 1880 census, Texas had the largest percentage gain in its congressional apportionment, from 6 members to 11. The legislature defined 11 single-member districts for the 1882 elections. When Texas received additional congressional seats as a result of the 1890 census and 1900 census, it quickly accomplished redistricting to have equal populations in single- member districts.
After the
As Texas received no additional seats until 1931, it had no need to redistrict. In 1931, three more seats were allotted to Texas; the legislature waited until 1933 to redraw the districting plan. "This resulted in the under-representation of the people in those districts where population grew faster than the rest of the state. The failure to redistrict favored the rural areas at the expense of Texas's growing urban centers. The latter's faster population growth meant they deserved additional seats in the state Legislature and the U.S. Congress."[3]
Voters amend the Constitution
The great imbalance in representation between declining rural populations and growing urban interests that had developed over the decades finally resulted in the voters adopting a state constitutional amendment in 1948 that gave the Legislature a deadline to enact a redistricting plan as specified under the original Constitution. The amendment provided that, if in the first legislative session after the publication of the decennial census of the population a redistricting plan was not adopted, the responsibility passed to a newly formed board, the Legislative Redistricting Board (LRB). The LRB is composed of the
The next time that Texas received additional seats in Congress was as a result of the 1950 census, in which Texas gained one additional seat. That seat remained at-large throughout the decade; the legislature finally adopted the next redistricting plan in time for the 1958 general election. In 1960, Texas received one more member; again, the state legislature did not redraw the seats. .
Equal population—the courts act
The Apportionment Clause of Section 2, Article I, of the
In the 1964 case of
In Bush v. Martin, plaintiffs from two congressional districts asserted that, in the round, those in Texas were unconstitutional. The Federal District Court in Houston held Texas' Congressional Districting act to be such and stated that the Texas Legislature must redraw them in compliance with Wesberry v. Sanders. Bush v. Martin, 224 F. Supp. 499 (S.D. Tex. 1963), affirmed, 376 U.S. 222 (1964).
The three-judge Federal District Court found that the population disparity among Texas congressional districts—ranging from 216,371 to 951,527—was "indeed spectacular." It noted that marked under-representation was "not surprisingly" found in metropolitan districts. Although Texas boasted a total of 254 counties, more than half of the population of the state was living in only eighteen counties; fifteen areas in the state qualified for the classification of "metropolitan" according to US Census Bureau standards.
During the 1965 legislative session, the state legislature passed a plan on May 31, 1965, realigning the state's 23 congressional districts into single-member districts.[6] Governor John Connally signed the bill allowing the new districts to take effect for the 1966 elections.
Through most of the 20th century, until after passage of the
List of members representing the district
1873 – 1875
From 1873 to 1875, Texas elected two members at-large, as well as electing others from districts.
Seat A | Seat B | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Years | Cong ress |
Member | Party | Electoral history | Member | Party | Electoral history | ||
March 4, 1873 – March 3, 1875 |
43rd | Roger Q. Mills (Corsicana) |
Democratic | Elected in 1872. .
Redistricted to the 4th district |
Asa H. Willie (Galveston) |
Democratic | Elected in 1872 .Retired. |
1913 – 1919
Texas re-established an at-large seat in 1913; it elected two members at-large following the 1910 United States census, as well as electing others from districts until 1919.
Years | Cong ress |
Seat A | Seat B | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Member | Party | Electoral history | Member | Party | Electoral history | ||||
March 4, 1913 – March 3, 1915 |
63rd | Houston )
|
Democratic | Elected in 1912 .Lost renomination. |
Dallas )
|
Democratic | Elected in 1912. .
Re-elected in the 5th district | ||
March 4, 1915 – March 3, 1917 |
64th | James H. Davis (Sulphur Springs) |
Democratic | Elected in 1914 .Lost renomination. |
Houston )
|
Democratic | Re-elected in 1916. and lost renomination.
Redistricted to the 8th district | ||
March 4, 1917 – March 3, 1919 |
65th | Houston )
|
Democratic | Elected in 1916. and retired.
Redistricted to the 8th district |
1933 – 1935
Texas re-established an at-large seat in 1933, electing three members at-large following the 1930 United States census, as well as electing others from districts until 1935.
Years | Cong ress |
Seat A | Seat B | Seat C | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Member | Party | Electoral history | Member | Party | Electoral history | Member | Party | Electoral history | |||||
March 4, 1933 – January 3, 1935 |
73rd | Dallas )
|
Democratic | Dallas )
|
Democratic | George B. Terrell (Alto) |
Democratic |
1953 – 1959
Texas re-established an at-large seat in 1953, electing one member at-large following the 1950 United States census, as well as electing others from districts until 1959.
Years | Cong ress |
Member | Party | Electoral history |
---|---|---|---|---|
January 3, 1953 – January 3, 1959 |
83rd 84th 85th |
Martin Dies Jr. (Lufkin) |
Democratic | Re-elected in 1956 .Retired. |
1963 – 1967
Texas re-established an at-large seat in 1963, electing one member at-large following the 1960 United States census, as well as electing others from districts until January 1967, by which time the effects of the Supreme Court judgment banning at-large districts in multi-district states had been applied to the election prior.
Years | Cong ress |
Member | Party | Electoral history |
---|---|---|---|---|
January 3, 1963 – January 3, 1967 |
88th 89th |
Dallas )
|
Democratic | Re-elected in 1964. .
Redistricted to the 3rd district |
References
- ^ Brown, et al. Practicing Texas Politics, 11th Edition (2001), p. 222
- ^ Keith, Jeanette. Rich Man's War, Poor Man's Fight: Race, Class and Power in the Rural South during World War I. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 2004. p. 169.
- ^ a b Texas Politics, Liberal Arts Instructional Technology Services, University of Texas at Austin, 2006 Archived 2007-10-23 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Texas Legislature's Guide to Redistricting" Archived 2004-11-17 at the Library of Congress Web Archives
- ^ Reynolds v. Sims, 377 U.S. 533 (1964).
- ^ Washington Post, May 31, 1965, p.A3
- ^ .
- ^ a b c Thornton, William M. (May 3, 1933). "Redistricting Bill for Congress Gets Committee Favor". The Dallas Morning News. p. 3.
Further reading
- Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
- Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
- Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present