"Since President Donald Trump took office for his second term-indeed, since his loss in 2020-he has shown his willingness to subvert the rules of free and fair elections. In various ways, he's used his power to intimidate potential opponents, Democratic donors, and even voters who might oppose him. His administration appointed the election denier Heather Honey to the newly created role of deputy assistant secretary for election integrity."
"Democrats have started working the refs in response. On the ballot in California this week was Proposition 50, a new initiative to gerrymander the state's congressional districts in Democrats' favor. Governor Gavin Newsom did not advocate Proposition 50 as a way to better reflect the state's changing population or to promote racial equity. Instead the measure was written explicitly as payback."
Recent electoral victories prompted Democratic celebrations but raised warnings about future retaliation and escalation. Since 2020, Trump has repeatedly shown willingness to subvert free and fair election norms, using power to intimidate opponents, donors, and voters and appointing election deniers to oversight roles. Democratic officials have responded with countermeasures, including Proposition 50 in California designed to produce favorable congressional maps as explicit payback. The measure passed by a large margin, but such emergency or retaliatory tactics risk triggering a gerrymandering arms race and further erosion of established electoral rules and norms.
Read at The Atlantic
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