Former President Barack Obama on Thursday joined a virtual meeting with Texas House Democrats who left the state to deny Republicans the ability to pass newly drawn GOP-favorable congressional maps, cheering on their efforts and stressing their work comes at a critical time in the fight against partisan gerrymandering.

California voters in 2010 gave the power to draw congressional maps to an independent commission, with the goal of making the process less partisan. The commission last redrew maps following the 2020 census, and the maps were in place for the 2022 and 2024 U.S. House elections.