Houston Daily

A recent survey conducted by the University of Houston’s Hobby School of Public Affairs and Texas Southern University’s Barbara Jordan-Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs found that a majority of Texas voters are concerned about partisan gerrymandering. The poll, which included responses from 1,650 registered voters across Texas, asked participants about redistricting and several legislative measures passed during the second special session of the Texas Legislature.

According to the results, 68% of respondents consider it a major problem when states draw legislative districts to favor one political party. An additional 21% see it as a minor problem, while 11% do not view it as an issue.

This survey comes shortly after the Texas Legislature approved a congressional redistricting map designed to shift five Democratic-held seats to Republican control.

Renée Cross, researcher and senior executive director of the Hobby School, said, “Overall, we found wide agreement that partisan redistricting is a problem, with almost 90% saying it is a problem and 68% saying it is a major problem. But as with the other bills we asked Texans to consider, we found stark divisions between Democrats and Republicans on the question.”

The data reveals significant partisan differences: 91% of Democrats regard partisan gerrymandering as a major problem compared to 41% of Republicans. Among independent voters, 77% say it is a major concern. Still, another 36% of Republicans describe it as a minor issue.

To address concerns about redistricting fairness, some states have created independent commissions for drawing district lines. Mark P. Jones, political science fellow at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and senior research fellow at the Hobby School, noted support for this approach among Texans: “We found that almost half of voters, or 46%, think an independent commission should draw these district lines, while 29% favor leaving the power with the Legislature,” Jones said. “But as with the other questions, there was a large partisan divide — 68% of Democrats prefer an independent commission, and 13% of Democrats favor allowing the Legislature to continue drawing these districts. Among Republican voters, 26% prefer an independent commission, while 48% want to leave the power with the Legislature.”

Independent voters also lean toward independent commissions (51%), while only 15% support maintaining legislative control over redistricting.

The survey also gauged opinions on three bills from the special session: House Bill 7 allows private citizens to sue individuals who provide or distribute abortion medication in Texas; Senate Bill 8 requires transgender individuals to use restrooms in government buildings corresponding to their biological sex; and Senate Bill 12 lets the attorney general prosecute election-related violations without local consent.

Michael O. Adams, director of TSU’s Executive Master of Public Administration program stated: “There is broad support for Senate Bill 8 regulating which restrooms transgender people can use in public buildings, with 68% saying they support the bill, including 52% who strongly support it. In contrast, just 40% support House Bill 7... That drops to 22% who strongly support the new abortion restrictions.” Nearly half (46%) strongly oppose HB7.

Regarding SB12 on election prosecutions without local consent: voter opinion was split (52% opposed vs. 48% supportive). Support for SB12 was highest among Republicans (82%), white voters (57%), but lower among Democrats (15%), independents (40%), Latino voters (43%), and Black voters (20%).

Support for restricting restroom access for transgender people stands at over nine out of ten among Republicans (94%) but just over one-third among Democrats (36%). Two-thirds (69%) of independents back this legislation; men are more likely than women to support it by twenty percentage points (81%-61%). Support varies by age group: Generation Z shows lower approval rates (56%) compared to older generations such as baby boomers or members of Generation X.

Allowing citizen lawsuits against those providing abortion medication has majority backing only among Republicans (68%), compared with much lower levels among Democrats (17%) and independents (28%). Men are also more likely than women to express support for this measure.

The full report is available on the Hobby School website. The survey was conducted from September 19 through October 1 in both English and Spanish; its margin of error is +/-2.41%. Previous findings from this research examined preferences in statewide races; upcoming reports will explore issues like immigration policy and household energy use.