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Facing increasingly dire polls, President Donald Trump is determined to prevent Democrats from reclaiming the U.S. House in the 2026 midterm elections. So he’s pressuring Republican-controlled states to give the GOP an unfair edge by gerrymandering their congressional maps.
But if Democrats are willing to play political hardball, that edge could be neutered by 2028. In fact, by doing their own partisan redraws in big blue states like New York, New Jersey, and Illinois — and trying again in the Old Dominion — the party could even potentially emerge from this scorched-earth battle with anywhere between a six- and thirteen-seat advantage over Republicans, according to a Democracy Docket analysis.
Days after the U.S. Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act, Illinois lawmakers were forced to shelve a proposed ballot measure that would have given voters a chance to strengthen redistricting protections in their state.
Legal experts, voting rights advocates, and even the VRA’s loudest foes all agree with Justice Elena Kagan: “[I]n fact, those ‘updates’ eviscerate the law.”
Within days of the Supreme Court’s decision to gut the Voting Rights Act (VRA), its devastating effects are already unfolding— throwing voting rights cases across the country into chaos as courts pause proceedings and GOP state officials rush to shut down claims and redraw maps.
Facing mounting setbacks to their nationwide gerrymanders, Republicans are dusting off a fringe legal theory to block voter referendums, court-ordered maps, and other democratic safeguards that threaten their edge.
Utah Republicans’ plan to repeal the state’s gerrymandering ban in order to grab another congressional seat isn’t going as well as they hoped.
President Donald Trump’s redistricting arms race is wreaking havoc across the country, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. But in Missouri, the fight has grown into something that threatens to cut democracy to the bone.
It was a tough year for democracy and voting rights, but it wasn’t all bad. The November elections offered more than just a glimmer of hope that next year’s midterms will be a major rebuke of President Donald Trump’s second term.
Much like replacing a smoke detector or coming down with the flu, it’s best if we only have to deal with redistricting once per decade. And yet, here we are, mid-decade, wading through nonstop redistricting news because 77 million people voted for a convicted felon who will happily demolish democracy like it’s the East Wing of the White House if it helps him hold on to power in the 2026 midterm elections.
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