The Battle for Democracy: What’s at Stake in 2026

California and Texas Mid-decade Redistricting maps and their impact on our nation’s democracy. How will each impact the 2026 midterm elections? 

SVREP (Southwest Voter Registration Education Project) is one of the Plaintiff members in the LULAC v Abbott legal challenge against the Texas redistricting 2021 maps and the 2025 mid-decade redistricting congressional maps. Five Latino-majority congressional districts are being dismantled to give way for five partisan districts at Trump’s call. Latino and African American voters are disenfranchised in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Rio Grande Valley. MALDEF is our legal representative.

Lydia Camarillo, President of SVREP, also leads SVREP’s affiliated policy/analysis arm, the William C. Velásquez Institute. She was appointed President after the untimely passing of the prior President, Antonio Gonzalez, in December 2018.

Thomas Saenz is President and General Counsel of MALDEF; he leads the organization in pursuing litigation, policy advocacy, and community education to promote the civil rights of all Latinos living in the U.S. in the areas of education, employment, immigrants’ rights, and voting rights.