The Republican-controlled state congress voted through the controversial changes on Wednesday night, Swedish time, after a prolonged debate. Before they become real, they also need to be approved by the state senate and signed by Governor Greg Abbott.
The proposal has been put forward at the request of President Trump with the intention of securing five new Republican seats in the House of Representatives and thus continued control over the Congress's lower house.
"Big win for the great state of Texas!", the President writes on Truth Social.
Fled the state
The Democratic members of the Texas state congress tried to stop the vote by leaving the state at the beginning of August.
An intentionally racist map aimed at stealing the votes of millions of black and Spanish-speaking Texans, Gene Wu, the Democrats' group leader in Texas, has previously said about the proposal.
They returned earlier in the week, which made Wednesday's vote possible.
The decision to interrupt the protest came after California's Governor Gavin Newsom announced that his state will redraw its maps to the Democrats' advantage to balance out Texas's move.
Donald Trump, you have awakened the bear and we will strike back, Newsom said during a speech in Los Angeles last week and accused the President of trying to "rig" next year's midterm elections.
Obama praises
The move is praised by the US's former President Barack Obama, also a Democrat.
He has said that he will do it responsibly. We will not try to maximize it, Obama says during a fundraising event, according to AP.
In California, the changes must be approved by the state's voters in a special election planned for November 4.
Normally, the states' electoral districts are redrawn every tenth year based on new census data.
