TFN’s Executive Director, Felicia Martin, joined hundreds of Texans in Austin to testify before the committee in opposition to House Bill 4, a mid-decade Texas redistricting effort.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 2, 2025
CONTACT: Emily Witt (she/her), [email protected]
AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas House Committee on Congressional Redistricting today advanced proposed redistricting legislation, House Bill 4, which would redraw Texas’ congressional voting maps.
While the Regular 89th Legislative Session ended on June 2, Governor Greg Abbott chose to reconvene Texas lawmakers for a special session on July 21.
Governor Abbott’s July 9 announcement of the special session centered on the need for flood relief and disaster preparedness in the wake of catastrophic flooding in the Texas Hill Country. Yet, the agenda for the special session, which can only last 30 days, included controversial issues like redistricting, abortion access, and legislation barring transgender Texans from using public gendered spaces aligning with their gender identity.
Texas Freedom Network’s Executive Director, Felicia Martin, joined hundreds of Texans in Austin to testify before the committee during the final public hearing held Friday, August 1.
Texas Freedom Network’s Executive Director Felicia Martin (she/her/ella) gave the following testimony:
“I’m a proud product of Aldine ISD public schools and a graduate of Rice University, both of which are in Harris County. I am also a taxpayer, a voter, a Latina, and a proud Texan—one who is part of a two-mom family raising our seven-year-old daughter here in Austin.
“I am also the newest President of the Texas Freedom Network, an organization that has spent the last 30 years fighting for public education, religious freedom, and the fundamental rights of every Texan.
“I’m here today on behalf of Texans who believe in real democracy—not the version being manipulated behind closed doors. I am here to ask each of you: What does democracy mean to you?
“Because what I was taught by my parents, and in my public school, is that it means people—not politicians—pick their leaders.
“It means our government serves the public good, not self-interests or self-preservation.
It means prioritizing funding to address the devastating floods we just experienced instead of calling a special session—out of fear—to cling to power.
It means transparency. Public input. Fair representation.
It means showing up for the people of this state—not just for your own party’s survival.
“Are you so terrified of Black, brown, and young voters that you feel compelled to shut us up?
“This mid-decade Texas redistricting is unjust—and yet another disgusting example of this state’s history of silencing and discriminating against voters like me. And you know it.
“It’s not about data. It’s not about fairness. It’s about Donald Trump, a corrupt Department of Justice, and a power grab in Texas—pure and simple.
“So ask yourselves, legislators—what does democracy mean to you?
“Because we are watching. We are organizing. And we will not be erased. Saying yes to this map will forever attach racist gerrymandering to your name. And that will be your legacy.”
House Bill 4 is now eligible to go to the full Texas House for debate and a vote. If the House approves it, it will then go to the Texas Senate, where it must pass through committee review and a full floor vote. If both chambers pass the same version, Governor Greg Abbott will then either approve or veto it.
Texas lawmakers’ choice to focus on redistricting, particularly before addressing flood relief, has drawn criticism from Texans across the state. Before the final hearing at the Texas Capitol, hundreds attended regional hearings in Arlington and Houston, largely voicing opposition. In Arlington, about 500 Texans registered to speak, with only a few supporting redistricting efforts.
