Texas Democratic Party: Moving Texas Forward

According to data released by the Secretary of State, more than 600,000 people in Texas who are registered to vote do not have a Texas driver’s license or state issued identification. In Hidalgo County, 22,769 – or 7.98% of total voters – lack this identification.  Of these, 17,984 are Hispanic.

“Aaron Pena and his Republican colleagues are using every trick in the book to try and pre-determine the outcome of elections,” said Boyd Richie, Chairman of the Texas Democratic Party. “Pena voted for legislation that could disenfranchise more than 22,000 Hidalgo County voters. He knows he has a better chance at winning if less people vote.”

In 2009 when Aaron Pena sat on the Elections Committee as a Democrat, he voted against the Republican voter suppression legislation. It was only after joining the Republican Party that he embraced proposals to disenfranchise voters.

“As Chairman of the Hispanic Republican Conference, Aaron Pena has taken the lead in disenfranchising Latinos,” said Rebecca Acuña, spokeswoman for the Texas Democratic Party. “After a session of voting against the interests of Hispanics and his constituents, we understand why he’s scared.”

House District 40, which Aaron currently represents, has 204,340 Hispanics. The new House District 41, which Pena gerrymandered for himself, has 127,801 Hispanics, meaning that Aaron purged 76,539 Hispanics from his district.

The Department of Justice pointed to Pena’s blatantly gerrymandered district when they objected to the Texas House Map as a Violation of the Voting Rights Act.

“Aaron might not care about the Voting Rights Act, but fortunately for his constituents, the Department of Justice does,” concluded Richie.

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