Galveston County commissioners redrew precinct map after primary, citing goal of electing more Republicans

On June 29, 2026, the Galveston County Commissioners Court voted unanimously to adopt new precinct boundaries for county commissioners, constables and justices of the peace, redrawing Precinct 3 for the second time since 2021. The vote came after the March 2026 primary had already been held under the old map and months before the November 2026 general election — a sequence the Texas Supreme Court later said had no known historical precedent. County Judge Mark Henry told Houston Public Media the new map would improve "judicial function" and create "fiscal efficiencies," and said in a separate statement, "I ran on the promise of being a fiscal conservative and turning Galveston County Republican. This map accomplishes just that."

The redraw followed a 2021 map that eliminated the county's only majority-minority commissioner precinct, which Black and Hispanic voters and the U.S. Department of Justice are still challenging in federal court as a Voting Rights Act violation. A day after the June 29 vote, Galveston County told the federal judge overseeing that case that the new map rendered the 2021 lawsuit moot; U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Brown rejected the argument, calling the timing of the new map "highly suspicious."

Voters and a county constable separately sued in Texas state courts, arguing that redrawing precinct lines between a primary and its general election meant some residents would never get to vote for the same office under both sets of boundaries. Election-law experts said they were not aware of any prior instance of a jurisdiction redistricting between a primary and its following general election.

Updates

2026-09-11 — Texas Supreme Court blocked use of new map for November election [2, 3]

The Texas Supreme Court ruled that Galveston County must use the same precinct map from the March 2026 primary for the November general election, rejecting the county's argument that a state law allowing commissioners to redraw lines "from time to time" let them do so between a primary and a general election. The unsigned opinion said redrawing boundaries during an ongoing election raised "serious constitutional concerns" because "a primary election and the corresponding general election are one election for purposes of this principle." The county may use the new map after the November 2026 election, but separate lawsuits over the map remain pending.