Democrats Launch Nationwide Court Fight To Stop GOP Gerrymandering
From Ohio to Utah, Democrats are prepared to fight every GOP gerrymander in court, including Texas and Missouri.
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When it comes to the issue of gerrymandering, the courts are the venue of last resort, but Democrats are preparing for a long and drawn-out legal battle to stop the Trump effort to rig the midterm election with red state gerrymanders.,
The machinations began last month, after Texas passed its new map carving out five extra seats for Republicans. The legal arm of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee — an organization affiliated with Obama — was quick to file suit challenging the Texas GOP’s alleged use of race in redrawing the lines. Additional lawsuits have quickly followed.
A judge is expected to decide by the end of October whether to grant a preliminary injunction on Texas’ map, a tight timeline that gives Democrats their best remaining hope so far at thwarting the GOP push before the map takes effect for next year’s elections.
Litigation also looms in Missouri and Ohio — where state lawmakers are redrawing their congressional lines — and potentially Florida and Indiana too, if those states move forward with their own mid-cycle map shuffles. And a recent ruling in Utah could give Democrats the chance to pick up one seat there.
Democrats should fight in court to defend the rights of all voters to have their voices heard. Unlike what California is doing, the red state gerrymanders disenfranchise voters by giving them no voice on the new map.
However, legal action is very expensive, and far from certain in terms of outcomes. The good news for Democrats is that they don’t need to have every gerrymandered red state map overturned. If they are successful in a few states, and voters in California approve the new map, Democrats will have essentially neutered Trump’s effort to rig 2026.
Battles over gerrymandered maps can go on for years, but for the moment, all that is necessary is that these maps are blocked from being used in the 2026 election.
Ideally, an independent commission would do all redistricting, and politicians would have nothing to do with it.
The world that we are currently living in features a president and his party that have open contempt for democracy, so if Democrats want to save democracy, they must do what is necessary, and that means fighting gerrymandering on all fronts.
What do you think about the court battle to block the gerrymandered maps? Join the discussion in the comments below.
“A president and his party that have open contempt for democracy” You hit that nail on the head
SCOTUS is all that matters because trump will force every case to them. They are proving to be ideologically corrupt due to their allegiance to power and control. They keep defying logic to rule in trump's favor without explanation.