The Supreme Court did a huge disservice to this country when they ruled political gerrymandering was nonjusticiable in federal court (Rucho v Common Cause 2019). To me, it’s as significant as Citizens United and Presidential Immunity.
Thank you, Gabe. This is exactly what turns voters off of politics. It is voter suppression.
I wrote to my MO Gov. Kehoe and told him, “we see your transparent power grab and it is not a good look.”
He sent a generic reply which included, “Discussions are always being held to ensure that conservative Missouri values are represented in Washington.”
He doesn’t hide that he has no intention of representing all of his constituents.
I replied by reminding him that the majority of MO voters just voted for abortion access in November. That is a Missouri value! And we expect him to respect that and our votes.
Unfortunately, he does not. But we can hold him accountable at the next statewide election.
Gina, as a fellow Missourian, thank you for writing and using your voice! It’s frustrating the generic replies that dismiss the concerns that we receive back, but we have to keep trying.
Hi, Texan here. Republicans cheat to win here, they pass voter suppression laws, heavily gerrymander districts, don’t allow voter-led ballot initiatives, and pass legislation that is wildly unpopular with a majority of constituents (see recent school voucher scam bill passed.) Texas is not deep Red, but very Purple and suppressed. It’s been a test kitchen, of sorts, for what destructive Republicans have wanted to do with the entire country. When states like California and New York say they’ll break rules if Texas breaks rules, it’s really a political game of chicken. Its hope is that when a majority of Congress are sane Democrats, legislation would be passed to stop destructive partisan gerrymandering. Texas Democrats can break quorum in the state house to avoid the vote, but our governor could just call another special session to try and pass it. If you live in Texas, call your Dem state reps to tell them you support them, and there are resources to donate to Texas Democrats, if they do break quorum they will face fines. But our democracy is at stake. Again. Ugh.
What can we do to affect change regarding gerrymandering? That is a cause I would take up.
In Utah, we had a referendum that was on the ballot regarding hiring an independent commission to draw the maps and it passed so an Independent commission drew fair maps. The majority Republican Legislature decided they didn’t like the maps so they re-drew them. A lawsuit was filed against the Legislature and we are waiting for the final ruling. It is hard enough to live in a predominantly red state when you are an Independent but knowing they stacked the deck in my District specifically infuriates me.
You did it. You did the thing you were supposed to do by passing the referendum. We did the same in Michigan. Flipped both the Michigan House and Senate to Democrat for the first time in 40 years. The House flipped back to Republican in 2024, which pretty much reflects how the state leaned red (except for electing Democrat Elissa Slotkin to the Senate). I finally feel like our districts make sense. Unfortunately, not all states have the ability to pass such referenda built into their constitutions.
I feel like we need a constitutional amendment to fix this issue. It shouldn’t be up to a referendum in the first place. The current system puts the map decisions in the hands of people whose jobs depend on the maps. It makes no sense. Independent commissions make sense. It might not be a perfect solution, but I haven’t heard any solution that works better.
In my eyes, gerrymandering is cheating. The fact that it is legal is mind boggling (as so many things are these days). If the only way you can “win” is to gerrymander, well it tells me what kind of morals/ethics you have. Power hungry is not a good look.
This illustrates why Democrats need to stop playing defense on election integrity and start playing offense. I applaud Newsom and Democrats from other states for being ready to respond tit for tat to Texas's power grab. That might be necessary given the threat Texas has instigated. But in the meantime, voters everywhere are going to lose representation as both parties try to squeeze maximum advantage out of their maps.
We need something that gets rid of gerrymandering for good, everywhere.
While Republicans have been busy disenfranchising voters with voter ID laws, using the DOJ to threaten election officials without cause, and caught on tape retroactively invalidating ballots on technicalities they planned to exploit before elections even happened, Democrats have mostly responded by calling these tactics illegal or unfair. That's not enough.
What's happening in Texas right now shows us the real threat to election integrity isn't some insignificant number of people somewhere potentially casting ballots they shouldn't at the risk of imprisonment. The real enemy of election integrity is politicians like Abbott who are willing to throw out maps they themselves signed into law just to grab more congressional seats than they deserve. It’s plainly partisan and easy to show as corrupt. This is the kind of systemic manipulation that actually affects thousands of votes and entire electoral outcomes, not the phantom voter fraud Republican politicians obsess over.
Democrats should flip the script entirely and declare that they care more about election integrity than Republicans do, because they're willing to address the actual problems. As I mentioned a few days ago, the party should offer real solutions like universal support for free and accessible passports for all eligible voters, removing any legitimate concerns about voter ID while ensuring no one is disenfranchised by economic barriers. But they shouldn't stop there. As Gabe correctly identified, gerrymandering makes politicians the winners and voters of all backgrounds the losers. Fighting for better representation is a winning message across party lines, because there are plenty of people who have considered themselves conservatives or independents who are furious about how elections are being politicized regardless of party. This could be an opportunity to pick up some voters who are ready to cross party lines in a Blue Wave year.
The message should be clear: "Real Election Integrity: Every Vote Counts, Every Voice Heard, Every District Fair." Democrats should propose amending the Constitution to require that all states use citizens' councils for redistricting. As Sharon wrote in her proposal to improve elections, "Research suggests that the most fair way to draw voting districts is to create a citizens' council made up of a broad cross section of people from all walks of life and political beliefs. This group will be the most motivated to create voting districts that are as fair as possible for the broadest number of people."
If Democrats ran on a constitutional amendment to end this inefficient and unfair practice of rewarding whichever party acts least in their constituents' interests, they'd be offering voters something Republicans never will: a system where politicians can't pick their voters. That's real election integrity.
That being said, I’m aware that there are plenty of Democratic lawmakers who would see the end of gerrymandering as a threat to their own careers. So this might have to be a more grassroots non-partisan strategy than expecting Congress to do the right thing. I'll be checking out the situation in places like red California districts and blue Texas districts to see if those voters are fired up about this plan to take away their representation. If anyone’s interested in joining me on this project, shoot me a message!
The door Texas is opening by potentially starting this is not worth it. We need multiple healthy parties and the only way we get healthy competition is less gerrymandering. There are enough intelligent people in this world to find a way to draw district lines to encourage competition. It’s going to anger politicians across the spectrum but so be it.
Seems like a dangerous game of gerrymandering ping pong being played by the two major political parties. How does this benefit voters? It does not; on either side! I’m a school teacher and I think about the ending of the pledge of allegiance that we have students recite every day. It states: “with liberty and justice for all.” Not, “with liberty and justice for those that live or don’t live in the right gerrymandered district.” Or, “with liberty and justice for those that are in the same political party as the one that is in power at the moment!” It’s just insanity on both sides of the political spectrum and it certainly seems to begin to alleviate, in my opinion, someone on one side or the other taking the moral high ground.
In what ways can we hold our elected officials accountable? I mean, say we live in an area that there is little to no chance to vote these folks out. What can we do?
This is what I'm dying to know. I'm so disheartened as a Texan. All of my elected officials are not only Republican, but some of the more radicalized - Paxton, Cruz, Brandon Gill, Dan Patrick, Abbott, even somewhat Cornyn. My local reps are also trying to be as radicalized as possible - Mitch Little and Tan Parker. No matter what I say to them, or how many times I contact them, my only responses are generic AI written trash about 'pushing the agenda of President Trump and the GOP'
I wonder how this redistricting would be affected if the ~39% of registered Texas voters who didn't vote in 2024 all showed up in 2026? As a Texan and an American (and an independent voter), I'm really, really tired of being ignored by my legislators at every level.
As if politics weren’t already a horrible thing in this country, now red states want to cheat because they know trumps policies are very unpopular and they will perhaps get slaughtered in the midterms. I’m tired of politicians having more power than the people. Things like gerrymandering should be against the law EVERYWHERE, for republicans and democrats. Limiting mail in voting and registration, drop off boxes and polling places are unfair and should also be illegal nationwide. We have fallen so far, we can’t let free and fair elections be the next thing we lose.
Politics has always been shenanigans but I have never been so aware of it. Thanks Sharon? Or maybe, wish I was still in the dark? Sigh, just kidding. Better to know......
This is how I feel. The more I learn I feel two very different things-it’s always been shenanigans and that makes me feel a little bit better AND just because it’s always been this way doesn’t mean it needs to stay this way.
I am so disgusted by the republicans trying to take over the country and this is only part of it. I believe the democrats are not completely innocent in this mess but the current situation is really over the top in breaking laws and defying the constitution. I will resist with everything I have.
We need a new system for determining districts. Some kind of grid where population is counted in each cell and the districts must be formed by a formulaic stacking of grids to have equivalent population numbers
The Supreme Court did a huge disservice to this country when they ruled political gerrymandering was nonjusticiable in federal court (Rucho v Common Cause 2019). To me, it’s as significant as Citizens United and Presidential Immunity.
💔
Thank you, Gabe. This is exactly what turns voters off of politics. It is voter suppression.
I wrote to my MO Gov. Kehoe and told him, “we see your transparent power grab and it is not a good look.”
He sent a generic reply which included, “Discussions are always being held to ensure that conservative Missouri values are represented in Washington.”
He doesn’t hide that he has no intention of representing all of his constituents.
I replied by reminding him that the majority of MO voters just voted for abortion access in November. That is a Missouri value! And we expect him to respect that and our votes.
Unfortunately, he does not. But we can hold him accountable at the next statewide election.
That is where our power remains.
Gina, as a fellow Missourian, thank you for writing and using your voice! It’s frustrating the generic replies that dismiss the concerns that we receive back, but we have to keep trying.
Hi, Texan here. Republicans cheat to win here, they pass voter suppression laws, heavily gerrymander districts, don’t allow voter-led ballot initiatives, and pass legislation that is wildly unpopular with a majority of constituents (see recent school voucher scam bill passed.) Texas is not deep Red, but very Purple and suppressed. It’s been a test kitchen, of sorts, for what destructive Republicans have wanted to do with the entire country. When states like California and New York say they’ll break rules if Texas breaks rules, it’s really a political game of chicken. Its hope is that when a majority of Congress are sane Democrats, legislation would be passed to stop destructive partisan gerrymandering. Texas Democrats can break quorum in the state house to avoid the vote, but our governor could just call another special session to try and pass it. If you live in Texas, call your Dem state reps to tell them you support them, and there are resources to donate to Texas Democrats, if they do break quorum they will face fines. But our democracy is at stake. Again. Ugh.
Texan here - I submitted my written public comment ahead of the hearing tomorrow. Please pass along! https://comments.house.texas.gov/home?c=c055
I submitted my written z
comments. Some of my highlights: a shameless power grab, an abomination , and another nail in the coffin of democracy.
Thanks for doing that, Missy! I couldn’t agree more.
What can we do to affect change regarding gerrymandering? That is a cause I would take up.
In Utah, we had a referendum that was on the ballot regarding hiring an independent commission to draw the maps and it passed so an Independent commission drew fair maps. The majority Republican Legislature decided they didn’t like the maps so they re-drew them. A lawsuit was filed against the Legislature and we are waiting for the final ruling. It is hard enough to live in a predominantly red state when you are an Independent but knowing they stacked the deck in my District specifically infuriates me.
You did it. You did the thing you were supposed to do by passing the referendum. We did the same in Michigan. Flipped both the Michigan House and Senate to Democrat for the first time in 40 years. The House flipped back to Republican in 2024, which pretty much reflects how the state leaned red (except for electing Democrat Elissa Slotkin to the Senate). I finally feel like our districts make sense. Unfortunately, not all states have the ability to pass such referenda built into their constitutions.
I feel like we need a constitutional amendment to fix this issue. It shouldn’t be up to a referendum in the first place. The current system puts the map decisions in the hands of people whose jobs depend on the maps. It makes no sense. Independent commissions make sense. It might not be a perfect solution, but I haven’t heard any solution that works better.
In my eyes, gerrymandering is cheating. The fact that it is legal is mind boggling (as so many things are these days). If the only way you can “win” is to gerrymander, well it tells me what kind of morals/ethics you have. Power hungry is not a good look.
Right? It seems blatantly obvious that they are cheating.
This illustrates why Democrats need to stop playing defense on election integrity and start playing offense. I applaud Newsom and Democrats from other states for being ready to respond tit for tat to Texas's power grab. That might be necessary given the threat Texas has instigated. But in the meantime, voters everywhere are going to lose representation as both parties try to squeeze maximum advantage out of their maps.
We need something that gets rid of gerrymandering for good, everywhere.
While Republicans have been busy disenfranchising voters with voter ID laws, using the DOJ to threaten election officials without cause, and caught on tape retroactively invalidating ballots on technicalities they planned to exploit before elections even happened, Democrats have mostly responded by calling these tactics illegal or unfair. That's not enough.
What's happening in Texas right now shows us the real threat to election integrity isn't some insignificant number of people somewhere potentially casting ballots they shouldn't at the risk of imprisonment. The real enemy of election integrity is politicians like Abbott who are willing to throw out maps they themselves signed into law just to grab more congressional seats than they deserve. It’s plainly partisan and easy to show as corrupt. This is the kind of systemic manipulation that actually affects thousands of votes and entire electoral outcomes, not the phantom voter fraud Republican politicians obsess over.
Democrats should flip the script entirely and declare that they care more about election integrity than Republicans do, because they're willing to address the actual problems. As I mentioned a few days ago, the party should offer real solutions like universal support for free and accessible passports for all eligible voters, removing any legitimate concerns about voter ID while ensuring no one is disenfranchised by economic barriers. But they shouldn't stop there. As Gabe correctly identified, gerrymandering makes politicians the winners and voters of all backgrounds the losers. Fighting for better representation is a winning message across party lines, because there are plenty of people who have considered themselves conservatives or independents who are furious about how elections are being politicized regardless of party. This could be an opportunity to pick up some voters who are ready to cross party lines in a Blue Wave year.
The message should be clear: "Real Election Integrity: Every Vote Counts, Every Voice Heard, Every District Fair." Democrats should propose amending the Constitution to require that all states use citizens' councils for redistricting. As Sharon wrote in her proposal to improve elections, "Research suggests that the most fair way to draw voting districts is to create a citizens' council made up of a broad cross section of people from all walks of life and political beliefs. This group will be the most motivated to create voting districts that are as fair as possible for the broadest number of people."
If Democrats ran on a constitutional amendment to end this inefficient and unfair practice of rewarding whichever party acts least in their constituents' interests, they'd be offering voters something Republicans never will: a system where politicians can't pick their voters. That's real election integrity.
That being said, I’m aware that there are plenty of Democratic lawmakers who would see the end of gerrymandering as a threat to their own careers. So this might have to be a more grassroots non-partisan strategy than expecting Congress to do the right thing. I'll be checking out the situation in places like red California districts and blue Texas districts to see if those voters are fired up about this plan to take away their representation. If anyone’s interested in joining me on this project, shoot me a message!
The door Texas is opening by potentially starting this is not worth it. We need multiple healthy parties and the only way we get healthy competition is less gerrymandering. There are enough intelligent people in this world to find a way to draw district lines to encourage competition. It’s going to anger politicians across the spectrum but so be it.
Seems like a dangerous game of gerrymandering ping pong being played by the two major political parties. How does this benefit voters? It does not; on either side! I’m a school teacher and I think about the ending of the pledge of allegiance that we have students recite every day. It states: “with liberty and justice for all.” Not, “with liberty and justice for those that live or don’t live in the right gerrymandered district.” Or, “with liberty and justice for those that are in the same political party as the one that is in power at the moment!” It’s just insanity on both sides of the political spectrum and it certainly seems to begin to alleviate, in my opinion, someone on one side or the other taking the moral high ground.
In what ways can we hold our elected officials accountable? I mean, say we live in an area that there is little to no chance to vote these folks out. What can we do?
This is what I'm dying to know. I'm so disheartened as a Texan. All of my elected officials are not only Republican, but some of the more radicalized - Paxton, Cruz, Brandon Gill, Dan Patrick, Abbott, even somewhat Cornyn. My local reps are also trying to be as radicalized as possible - Mitch Little and Tan Parker. No matter what I say to them, or how many times I contact them, my only responses are generic AI written trash about 'pushing the agenda of President Trump and the GOP'
I wonder how this redistricting would be affected if the ~39% of registered Texas voters who didn't vote in 2024 all showed up in 2026? As a Texan and an American (and an independent voter), I'm really, really tired of being ignored by my legislators at every level.
As if politics weren’t already a horrible thing in this country, now red states want to cheat because they know trumps policies are very unpopular and they will perhaps get slaughtered in the midterms. I’m tired of politicians having more power than the people. Things like gerrymandering should be against the law EVERYWHERE, for republicans and democrats. Limiting mail in voting and registration, drop off boxes and polling places are unfair and should also be illegal nationwide. We have fallen so far, we can’t let free and fair elections be the next thing we lose.
Politics has always been shenanigans but I have never been so aware of it. Thanks Sharon? Or maybe, wish I was still in the dark? Sigh, just kidding. Better to know......
This is how I feel. The more I learn I feel two very different things-it’s always been shenanigans and that makes me feel a little bit better AND just because it’s always been this way doesn’t mean it needs to stay this way.
I am so disgusted by the republicans trying to take over the country and this is only part of it. I believe the democrats are not completely innocent in this mess but the current situation is really over the top in breaking laws and defying the constitution. I will resist with everything I have.
I am disgusted by my state (Missouri).
We need a new system for determining districts. Some kind of grid where population is counted in each cell and the districts must be formed by a formulaic stacking of grids to have equivalent population numbers
Texan here. Do we get to vote on redistricting plans?
Fellow Texan. Nope. 🤬
🥺🥹😡