Opinion: After Prop. 50, we need to ask: Can't we create a better democracy?

"Since the campaign for Proposition 50 began, seven new Republican states have launched gerrymandering efforts of their own, and a growing number of Democratic states aren't far behind. With the gerrymandering wars now fully underway, American politics has entered a new, dangerously antidemocratic era: The party that controls Congress for the rest of the 2020s will likely be determined by whichever one manipulates district lines more effectively."

"Over the last few decades, Democrats and Republicans have stopped working together entirely, falling into what political scientist Lee Drutman calls a two-party doom loop a cycle of polarization and gridlock where each party's actions provoke a more extreme reaction from the other. The result is paralysis: Every few years, Congress swings from one extreme to the other, each party undoing the last one's work. Nothing lasts, nothing improves, and Americans' faith in democracy keeps sinking."

"As both parties escalate this arms race to rig the rules, it's worth asking: Is this really the kind of democracy we want? Gerrymandering might help one side win a few elections, but it won't solve our deeper political problems and it won't stop President Trump. To truly counter his authoritarian threat, we must reform the very system that fueled his rise: our unrepresentative, fully polarized two-party system."

California redrew independently drawn congressional districts to try to gain five seats and win back the House in 2026. Since the Proposition 50 campaign began, seven Republican-led states launched gerrymandering efforts and more Democratic states are following suit. The escalating gerrymandering arms race risks determining control of Congress this decade by whichever party manipulates districts more effectively. Gerrymandering may produce short-term electoral gains but cannot solve deeper political dysfunction or stop authoritarian threats. The core problem is an unrepresentative, fully polarized two-party system that produces polarization, gridlock, and declining public faith in democracy, requiring systemic reform.

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