The gerrymander has again reared its ugly head in several high-profile disputes over redistricting for the upcoming midterms, including action by the U.S. Supreme Court that may further curtail the enforcement of the Voting Rights Act.
A Congressional District or Abstract Art?
Gerrymandering is the manipulation of the boundaries of electoral constituencies within a state to benefit a particular political party (the one currently in power). Its critics have perhaps never been more vocal. Effective gerrymandering has become a critical part of keeping control in the U.S. House of Representatives, with instances becoming more brazen and, in the eyes of some, more of a perversion of democracy. Critics, of whom there are many, argue that gerrymandering leads to the further polarization of Congress to political extremes.
Does SCOTUS Have Eyes on the VRA?
The U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) recently announced it will hear a battle over gerrymandering concerning Louisiana's 6th District in October 2025. The nation's highest court stands to make a ruling that could gut the Voting Rights Act once and for all. This is in the aftermath of SCOTUS's 2019 ruling in Rucho v. Common Cause, which determined federal courts couldn't rule on partisan gerrymandering, as it was a political issue. Once again, the ill-defined legality of gerrymandering is at the center of a nationwide fight.
If It Walks Like a Duck and Quacks Like a Duck
Represented by population, the U.S. House of Representatives has 435 members and, as a result of the 2024 elections, is controlled by Republicans with a razor-thin majority. With a new election every two years, every seat matters.
Unlike statewide voting totals used in elections for the president, U.S. senators, and Governors, U.S. Representatives are chosen by only the votes cast in their district, as laid out in Article I, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution. After the U.S. Census, which occurs every 10 years, states and local governments crunch the data to redraw the voting district boundaries. This is known as redistricting.
In 1812, Massachusetts Governor Elbridge Gerry signed a bill that radically redrew state senate districts to benefit his political party. Between his name and an editorial cartoon that likened the new district to a mythological salamander, the term "gerry-mander" was born. While it allowed his party to retain control of the state senate, Gerry, who didn't want to sign the bill and found it "highly disagreeable," lost his own election. Tough legacy for a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
While gerrymandering has been part of U.S. politics since then, it was a focal point of the Republican plan to win back the House in 2010 and remains a method of keeping the party in power. The extremes of gerrymandering can be seen in Rep. Jim Jordan's "Duck District," and Rep. Dan Crenshaw's circle around Houston. Arguably, the Democrats' strangest district is Illinois' 13th District, currently held by Representative Nikki Budzinski. Louisiana's 6th District is the subject of the upcoming SCOTUS case.
The 6th District, currently represented by Rep. Cleo Fields (D), was redistricted after a district court ordered the state to redraw the map to add a second majority-minority district. White voters challenged the constitutionality of the redistricting. This sets up a battle between Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and protections provided by the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments, which SCOTUS recently instructed the two parties in the case to address in their upcoming arguments.
When the Cat's Away...
The Supreme Court's decision in 2019 removed a check on gerrymander liberties taken by state legislatures, with the latest example taking place in Texas. In reaction to racial gerrymandering claims made by the Trump administration's Department of Justice, the Texas House and Senate attempted to ram a heretofore rare mid-decade redistricting through while skipping steps that included public review. Democratic legislators fled the state to deny Republicans a quorum, leaving the gerrymandering in limbo.
If the new map is put into law, it's estimated that 30 of the 38 Texas Congressional seats would be under Republican control. This is despite Democratic votes numbering 4.8 million against 6.3 million votes cast for Republican candidates in the 2024 election, which makes the seat representation seem skewed.
Between the pending SCOTUS decision and blue states threatening to mirror (or exceed) the proposed gerrymandering in Texas, there is no end in sight to this long-running battle.
Related Resources
- North Carolina Remains Legal Battleground After Split Decision Over Gubernatorial Powers (FindLaw's Courtside)
- The Voting Rights Act of 1965 Overview (FindLaw's Voting)
- Voter Intimidation: What It Is, and What To Do (FindLaw's How Do I Protect My Right To Vote?)
