HARLINGEN — After more than a month of heated debate, the new single-member district map is in the city’s books to help residents find their voting precinct for the May election.
On Thursday, commissioners passed the second and final reading of an ordinance setting the city’s new district boundary lines.
During a tense Wednesday meeting, commissioners passed the ordinance’s first reading after Mayor Chris Boswell requested they consider a proposed map that wouldn’t move more than 3,000 District 2 registered voters into District 3.
In District 2, the new redistricting plan changes some of the constituency’s demographics, moving more than 3,000 registered voters, many living in upscale neighborhoods, into District 3, which includes the Treasure Hills area.
“I am going to reiterate that, as I’ve said before, that (the plan) is very unfair to almost 3,800 residents in the city of Harlingen who’ll be deprived of voting in a city election this year and they were cycled and slated to be able to vote for District 2 commissioner and now will not be able to do that,” Boswell told commissioners during Wednesday’s meeting.
Now, some residents will be voting in back-to-back elections, he said.
“In addition, other members of the community living in District 4 will actually be able to vote for a second commissioner,” Boswell told commissioners. “They voted last year for the commissioner in District 4. Now, a certain segment of the population of District 4 being moved to District 2 will actually be able to vote for another city commissioner, so they’re going to vote for two city commissioners in a span of a one-year period of time where other residents of our community will not have been able to vote for a commissioner for a period of five years — not even one, much less two.”
Since the commission’s new majority passed a Jan. 5 resolution setting the city’s new district voting boundaries, Boswell has charged voter suppression.
“Now, if you don’t want to call that voter suppression, if you don’t want to call it disenfranchisement, you don’t have to call it that,” he told commissioners. “But you can certainly call it unfair — and it’s not fair to the residents who were expecting to be able to vote in this next election, when, in fact, we could have met the constitutional requirements by simply shifting residents from District 5 into District 4, who would have been on the same voting cycle because both 4 and 5 voted for their commissioner in 2021. No one would have missed out on getting to vote. Here, we’re certainly taking away people’s voice from being heard in an election…. So, again, I ask you not to pass this ordinance but to pass an ordinance which would not strip the rights of the voters of District 2 from being able to vote in their election this year.”
In response, Commissioner Rene Perez accused Boswell of supporting the closing of early voting polls at 5 p.m., making it hard for working residents to cast their ballots in past elections.
In response, Commissioner Michael Mezmar said the city’s early voting schedules have included two days in which polls closed at 8 p.m.
“In the past 20 years, you and the former commissioners have supported the real voter suppression against the real working men and women of Harlingen, when you have your early voting from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.,” Perez told Boswell. “That’s what I call real voter suppression — when people have to choose between work or voting.”
Perez argued the new district boundaries still give District 2 registered voters moving into District 3 the right to vote in the May election.
“They will not vote for city commissioner,” he said. “They’ll be able to vote for mayor — they’ll be able to vote for charter amendments that we’re putting on the ballot.”
Perez argued Boswell is focused on the new district plan’s changes to District 2 because it moves out part of an upscale area.
“Each and every one of these maps causes disruption but it seems to me you care more about (the new plan) because it disrupts your close friends and your campaign donors,” he told Boswell. “But the people in District 5 — you don’t care if they’re going to be represented by somebody else.”
Meanwhile, Commissioner Frank Puente told Boswell commissioners are aiming to draw more voters to the polls.
“The term voter suppression — I feel it’s offensive, especially when we’re doing, voting and agreeing on these maps which are constitutionally legal,” he told Boswell. “I’d rather call it voter expansion because that’s what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to get people involved, (get) people to come out and vote. This will give an opportunity to the public to come out and speak their voice and make the right choice. We’re trying to help the community. It has nothing to do with politics. We’re just trying to make it right.”
In response, Boswell strongly denied charges of voter suppression.
“You can make these charges that I engaged in voter suppression, which are completely untrue,” he said. “If there’s anything I have encouraged people to do throughout my time as an elected official here in Harlingen, that’s to vote — to get out and vote. I want everybody to use their franchise — I want everybody to get out and vote and I want to continue to help everybody get out and vote.”
Last week, former City Commissioners Tudor Uhlhorn and Jay Meade and their wives filed a lawsuit with the Texas Supreme Court, charging “voter suppression,” arguing the new boundaries deny more than 3,000 former District 2 registered voters their right to cast ballots in the upcoming election.
In the lawsuit, they requested the court “invalidate” the new boundaries or order commissioners call a special May 7 election for the city’s five districts.
Last Friday, the court dismissed the case without issuing an opinion.
The law called on commissioners to realign boundaries to try to balance the five districts’ population numbers.
Last month, Rolando Rios, a San Antonio-based attorney hired to help the city redraw its five district boundaries, presented a revised version of the city’s previous map which didn’t stop constituents from voting in the May election.
Meanwhile, commissioners including Puente argued city officials failed to present them with options as the new map’s deadline approached early this month.
During a meeting, Rios told commissioners the coronavirus pandemic led Census workers to delay presenting data until September.
Last week, Uhlhorn and Meade argued Puente, Perez and Commissioner Richard Uribe failed to present their proposal in time for residents, including the thousands of registered voters who won’t be able to cast ballots in May, to speak out against the plan.
