El Paso voters may see different district on ballot due to redistricting

Voters in El Paso County should not be surprised to find congressional candidates from a different district on their ballot, according to KVIA. The El Paso County Elections Department said some residents of Texas' 16th Congressional District may see District 23 candidates instead because of a redistricting map approved for the midterm elections.

The reason: congressional district lines are determined by the maps voters will use in 2026, not by where they currently live. "A voter may currently reside in District 23 or 16, but the Congressional Representative they are voting for, who will take office in January of 2027, is determined using the new 2026 maps, and therefore that is the race on your ballot," the Elections Department said, according to KVIA.

Lisa Wise of the El Paso County Elections Department said many congressional district boundaries have been redrawn since the start of the current Congress. Those updates may have shifted which district voters participated in during the 2026 primary and general elections. However, Wise noted that the redrawn maps will not change the congressional district currently representing a voter until the new Congress begins in 2027.

The U.S. Supreme Court cleared the new map for use in April. In District 16, Democratic incumbent Veronica Escobar faces Republican challenger Adam Bauman. In District 23, Republican Brandon Herrera runs against Democrat Katy Padilla Stout.