Gerrymandering

California Special Election on Redistricting to Counter Texas GOP Gerrymandering

| Importance: 8/10

California voters decide Proposition 50 authorizing new congressional maps to flip 5 Republican seats Democratic, directly countering Trump-ordered Texas redistricting. Newsom’s “Election Rigging Response Act” bypasses independent commission through 2030 if any Republican state …

Gavin Newsom California Legislature Donald Trump California Redistricting Commission redistricting gerrymandering special-election democratic-response proposition-50 +1 more
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Missouri GOP Passes Mid-Decade Gerrymander to Eliminate Democratic Congressional Seat

| Importance: 8/10

Missouri’s Republican-controlled legislature advanced new congressional maps that would reduce Democratic representation from two seats to one by dismantling Representative Emmanuel Cleaver’s Kansas City district. The mid-decade redistricting, normally only done after census years, …

Missouri GOP legislature Representative Emmanuel Cleaver Trump Administration election-subversion gerrymandering voter-suppression institutional-capture
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Texas Democrats End 2-Week Standoff, Return for Trump-Ordered Redistricting Vote

| Importance: 9/10

Texas House Democrats return to Austin after 2-week quorum break in Illinois, ending resistance to Trump-ordered congressional redistricting. Republicans impose 24-hour security surveillance requiring DPS escorts and “permission slips” to leave chamber. Rep. Nicole Collier refuses, …

Texas House Democrats Nicole Collier Dustin Burrows Greg Abbott Ken Paxton +2 more redistricting gerrymandering quorum-break trump-interference democratic-surveillance +2 more
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Texas Legislature passes redistricting without Democrats present

| Importance: 10/10

In a controversial move, the Texas Legislature voted to change quorum rules and pass a new congressional map creating five additional safe Republican seats without Democratic members present. The legislature modified procedural rules to allow passage despite the absence of Democratic lawmakers, who …

Texas Legislature Texas Republicans Greg Abbott Texas House Democrats Todd Hunter redistricting gerrymandering quorum-violation constitutional-crisis electoral-manipulation +2 more
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Trump demands Texas conduct mid-cycle redistricting for 5 new GOP seats

| Importance: 10/10

President Trump publicly demands Texas Governor Abbott conduct unprecedented mid-cycle redistricting to create 5 new safe Republican congressional seats. Abbott initially resists, citing constitutional concerns and costs. Democratic legislators flee to Illinois to break quorum, with civil arrest …

Donald Trump Greg Abbott Texas Legislature redistricting gerrymandering constitutional-crisis electoral-manipulation mid-cycle-redistricting
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Texas Democrats Flee State to Block Trump-Requested Mid-Cycle Gerrymandering

| Importance: 6/10

Texas Governor Abbott called special session in July 2025 at former President Trump’s request to eliminate Democratic urban seats through mid-cycle redistricting. Most brazen attempt at mid-decade gerrymandering would have created five additional Republican districts. House Democrats broke …

Greg Abbott (Governor) Donald Trump Texas House Democrats Texas Legislature gerrymandering mid-cycle-redistricting quorum-break texas democratic-resistance +2 more
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Supreme Court Rules Partisan Gerrymandering Beyond Federal Court Jurisdiction

| Importance: 9/10

The Supreme Court rules 5-4 in Rucho v. Common Cause that partisan gerrymandering claims present “political questions beyond the reach of the federal courts,” effectively eliminating federal judicial oversight of even extreme partisan redistricting. The decision gives state legislatures …

Supreme Court John Roberts Robert Rucho Common Cause gerrymandering supreme-court voting-rights electoral-manipulation john-roberts
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Michigan Voters Approve Independent Redistricting Commission, Ending Partisan Gerrymandering

| Importance: 8/10

Michigan voters approve Proposal 2 with 61% support, amending the state constitution to create an independent redistricting commission that removes politicians from the line-drawing process. The grassroots “Voters Not Politicians” initiative directly responds to Michigan’s status …

Voters Not Politicians Michigan voters gerrymandering michigan direct-democracy voting-rights ballot-initiative
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Pennsylvania Supreme Court Strikes Down Congressional Map as Unconstitutional Partisan Gerrymander

| Importance: 8/10

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court rules that the state’s 2011 congressional map violates the Pennsylvania Constitution’s guarantee that “elections shall be free and equal,” striking down one of the nation’s most extreme partisan gerrymanders. The court finds that …

Pennsylvania Supreme Court League of Women Voters Pennsylvania General Assembly gerrymandering pennsylvania state-courts voting-rights REDMAP
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Courts Strike Down North Carolina Racial Gerrymandering, Legislature Redraws With Explicit Partisan Intent

| Importance: 8/10

Federal courts strike down North Carolina’s 2011 legislative redistricting as unconstitutional racial gerrymandering, finding that Republican lawmakers illegally packed African American voters into 28 districts. In response, the Republican-controlled legislature redraws the maps with explicit …

North Carolina General Assembly David Lewis Robert Rucho Republican Party gerrymandering racial-discrimination north-carolina voting-rights republican-party
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Federal Court Rules Texas 2011 Redistricting Intentionally Discriminated Against Latino Voters

| Importance: 8/10

A federal court rules that the Texas Legislature’s 2011 redistricting plan for congressional districts discriminated against Latino voters in violation of the federal Voting Rights Act and the U.S. Constitution. The decision finds that Texas deliberately carved up Latino communities and …

Texas Legislature Republican Party MALDEF gerrymandering racial-discrimination texas voting-rights latino-voters
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North Carolina Democrats Win Popular Vote But Lose 9 of 13 Congressional Seats

| Importance: 9/10

In the 2012 congressional elections, North Carolina Democratic candidates receive over 50% of the statewide popular vote but win only 4 of the state’s 13 congressional seats—a stark demonstration of how the Republican-drawn maps from 2011 effectively nullify voter preferences. The results …

Democratic Party Republican Party North Carolina General Assembly gerrymandering electoral-manipulation north-carolina REDMAP voter-suppression
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Wisconsin Republicans Pass Act 43 Gerrymandering Plan in Secret Process

| Importance: 8/10

Wisconsin Republicans pass 2011 Wisconsin Act 43, implementing extreme partisan gerrymandering through an unprecedented secret process. The redistricting plan, drawn behind closed doors at a private law firm with rank-and-file Republican legislators required to sign confidentiality agreements, …

Wisconsin Legislature Republican Party Michael Best & Friedrich gerrymandering wisconsin republican-party electoral-manipulation REDMAP +1 more
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North Carolina Republicans Begin Aggressive Racial Gerrymandering

| Importance: 8/10

Following their historic gains in the 2010 elections, North Carolina Republicans gain control of the General Assembly for the first time in over a century and immediately implement the “Rucho-Lewis plan”—an aggressive redistricting scheme that packs African American voters into …

North Carolina General Assembly Republican Party Robert Rucho David Lewis gerrymandering racial-discrimination voting-rights north-carolina republican-party +1 more
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Republicans Gain Record 680 State Legislative Seats, Securing REDMAP Objectives

| Importance: 9/10

Republicans achieve historic state legislative gains in the 2010 midterm elections, flipping a net 680 state legislative seats—breaking the previous record of 628 seats set by Democrats in the post-Watergate elections of 1974. The gains give Republicans control of redistricting in key states ahead …

Republican State Leadership Committee Republican Party gerrymandering electoral-manipulation republican-party REDMAP state-legislatures
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Republican State Leadership Committee Launches REDMAP Gerrymandering Project

| Importance: 9/10

The Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC) launches REDMAP (Redistricting Majority Project), a strategic initiative to gain control of state legislatures before the 2011 redistricting cycle following the 2010 Census. The project represents an unprecedented systematic approach to gerrymandering …

Republican State Leadership Committee Ed Gillespie Karl Rove gerrymandering electoral-manipulation republican-party redistricting REDMAP
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