This Big Idea Could Fix America's Gerrymandering Madness

"It gutted Voting Rights Act protections for minority representation in legislative bodies that had slowly but surely enabled Black voters to climb out from beneath the legacy of the Jim Crow South. At the same time, Callais (in combination with earlier Roberts Court decisions banning judicial interference with partisan gerrymanders) actively, even aggressively, encouraged instant and recurring legislative gerrymanders wherever a political party - more often than not, the GOP - had the power to carry one out."

"In the short term, Callais revived flagging Republican hopes that gerrymanders could so drastically tilt the playing field that the GOP could maintain control of the U.S. House in November even if it loses the national House popular vote by a significant margin (as it probably will). But the longer-term effects will be even more significant. Unless current GOP state government trifectas are disrupted, it's clear Republicans will go on a remapping binge prior to the 2028 and 2030 elections, then again after the 2030 census reapportions congressional seats (likely to the benefit of the sunbelt states they dominate)."

"In particular, majority- and plurality-Black (and in some places Latino) districts will be decimated without mercy. And it's equally clear Democrats will retaliate wherever and whenever they can, just as they did so very rapidly in California and Virginia this time around. A gerrymandering arms race will likely become a regular feature of American politics every year or two. And the victims will be not just the minority voters who will be denied representation but minority-party voters in both red and blue states who could suffer de facto disenfranchisement for years."

"Worse yet, there will be no simple way to reverse this devolution. Callais didn't just gut the Voting Rights Act of 1965; because it's a federal constitutional ruling, it woul"

The Supreme Court decision removed Voting Rights Act protections that had helped Black voters gain representation after Jim Crow. It also encouraged rapid, repeated legislative gerrymanders, especially where the GOP controlled state power. In the short term, it revived Republican hopes of maintaining House control even if the GOP loses the national popular vote. Longer term, Republicans are expected to remap repeatedly before 2028 and 2030 elections and again after the 2030 census, benefiting sunbelt states they dominate. Majority- and plurality-Black and some Latino districts are likely to be heavily reduced. Democrats are expected to retaliate in states where they can. A gerrymandering arms race may become routine, harming minority voters and minority-party voters through de facto disenfranchisement, with no straightforward reversal because the ruling is constitutional.

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