US EditionIs Gerrymandering Legal? Texas Dispute Highlights Nation's Long History of It
TRAVIS COUNTY, TEXAS, AUG 5 – Texas Republicans aim to add five GOP-leaning congressional seats through mid-decade redistricting while Democrats flee to deny quorum and block the plan, escalating partisan conflict.
- In 2019, the Supreme Court ruled in a North Carolina case that federal courts cannot decide if partisan gerrymandering goes too far.
- This decision comes amid a lengthy history of redistricting controversies that trace back to 1812, when a Massachusetts governor approved legislation to redraw state Senate boundaries in favor of the Democratic-Republican Party.
- Gerrymandering involves packing opposing party voters into few districts so the majority party wins more surrounding districts, a method common in many states including Texas.
- An AP analysis of the 2022 elections, the first conducted under new district boundaries, showed that Republicans gained only one more U.S. House seat than anticipated based on their nationwide vote share. In his opinion, Chief Justice Roberts noted that the Constitution does not provide a clear standard to determine if electoral district lines are drawn fairly toward any political party.
- Recent disputes like Democratic lawmakers fleeing Texas to block Republican-led redistricting highlight ongoing partisan conflict in a practice rooted in American political history for over 200 years.
47 Articles
47 Articles
Partisan lines drawn in media coverage of Texas redistricting: Bias Breakdown
Texas’ effort to redraw its congressional district map has generated strong reactions from both political parties and the partisan media. The coverage reveals narratives at play, and several common types of media bias in stories from sources on both sides of the spectrum. Viewpoint omission and subjective language The New York Times published a story on Texas’ redistricting with the headline, “Texas Republicans Unveil Gerrymandered House Map, Tr…
Texas Republicans Play Catch-Up in Gerrymandering
Texas Governor Greg Abbott and the Republican-controlled legislature have decided to play hardball by redrawing the state’s congressional map, with the aim of adding as many as five new Republican seats. The predictable Democratic hue and cry about gerrymandering, however, could hardly be more hypocritical.
Is gerrymandering legal? Texas dispute highlights nation's long history of it
When Democratic lawmakers left Texas to try to prevent the Republican-led Legislature from redrawing the state's congressional districts, it marked the latest episode in a long national history of gerrymandering. The word “gerrymander" was coined in America more than 200 years ago as an unflattering means of describing political manipulation in legislative map-making. The word has stood the test of time, in part, because American politics has re…
Texas dispute highlights nation's long history of partisan gerrymandering. Is it legal? (copy)
A spat over congressional redistricting in Texas marks the latest episode in a long national history of gerrymandering. Democratic lawmakers left Texas to try to block Republicans from redrawing congressional districts in their favor. The term "gerrymander" originated over 200…
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