Gerrymander

Mississippi politicians are threatening to redraw the district of Bennie Thompson, the state’s lone Democrat in CongressThe supreme court decision that effectively gutted the Voting Rights Act (VRA) “was red meat to the Republican legislators of the south” the US House representative Bennie Thompson said.Conservative lawmakers in Mississippi, where Thompson is both the state’s lone Black and only Democratic congressional representative, have used the opportunity to explicitly target him, threatening to redraw the second congressional district, that he represents. Continue reading...

• The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last month that voting districts can no longer be drawn along racial lines under the Voting Rights Act of 1965, shifting focus to partisan considerations. • Signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965, the Act originally aimed to dismantle barriers for Black voters, but the decision now permits states to redraw maps based on political affiliations. • The ruling has triggered a rapid effort in several states to reconfigure electoral districts, potentially reshaping congressional representation ahead of future elections.

• Alabama's state Legislature adjourned a special session on Monday after demonstrators entered the State House in Montgomery to protest Republican plans to adopt a gerrymandered congressional map that dilutes Black voter power. • Following the Supreme Court's recent ruling striking down the last remaining major provision of the Voting Rights Act, Republican Attorney General Steve Marshall filed an emergency motion to lift an existing injunction barring map changes before 2030. • The protest reflects broader national tensions over voting rights and congressional redistricting following the Court's decision to gut key Voting Rights Act protections.

• Florida has become the latest state to approve a partisan gerrymandered congressional map, reflecting ongoing efforts to reshape electoral districts for political advantage. • The redistricting decision continues the national battle over gerrymandering, with states competing to structure congressional districts to favor particular political parties. • The approval demonstrates the persistent challenge of partisan gerrymandering in U.S. electoral politics and its impact on representation and competitive races.

• A Pennsylvania state court ordered election officials to draw a new congressional map by June 2026, ruling that the current Republican‑backed map unlawfully diluted the voting strength of Black and Latino communities in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. • The judge found that the existing districts concentrated minority voters into a handful of “safe” Democratic seats, limiting their influence in neighboring competitive districts and violating state constitutional protections for equal representation. • The decision threatens Republican hopes of holding a narrow House majority in 2026 and could force the legislature into a court‑supervised redistricting process if lawmakers cannot agree on a replacement map.

• The Supreme Court decided on April 29, 2026, whether Louisiana's new congressional map constitutes an unconstitutional racial gerrymander, marking a significant ruling on voting rights and district boundaries. • The case, Louisiana v. Callais, examined Louisiana's 2022 redrawn congressional districts that were previously challenged in federal court under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. • This decision affects ongoing redistricting battles across the country as states prepare for the 2026 midterm elections, with implications for both Democratic and Republican seat counts.

• President Trump's redistricting power grab in Texas concluded in a stalemate for parties, deemed a loss for the nation. • The effort warped minority and majority rights balance according to critics. • This outcome affects congressional representation and future elections in the state.