The Fight for Fair Maps

Politicians from both political parties are not even attempting to hide the extent to which they are manipulating elections by creating illogical electoral maps to predetermine outcomes. They are literally racing to the bottom through partisan gerrymandering.

Political parties’ increasingly brazen gerrymandering and recent court opinions have put this issue front and center. The time has come for independent minded people and those who value fair elections to compel federal legislators to pass the Freedom to Vote Act.¹

What is Gerrymandering?

The phrase gerrymandering was coined when founding father, Elbridge Gerry signed a highly partisan Massachusetts map which redrew Senate election districts. While Gerry was not deeply engaged in drawing the highly partisan maps, he ratified the districts, one of which resembled a salamander.

Redistricting has become a central issue in American politics because it has essentially allowed politicians to pick their voters. And two recent Supreme Court decisions, along with advanced technology, have made things much worse.

What Has the Supreme Court Said About Partisan Gerrymandering?

The Supreme Court greenlit partisan gerrymandering in the famous case of Rucho v. Common Cause. This case stemmed from challenges by both Democrats and Republicans to extreme partisan gerrymandering. While the Supreme Court recognized the devastating impact partisan gerrymandering could have on our democracy, they refused to intervene, deeming it a political issue.²

Subsequently, in Louisiana v. Callais, the Supreme Court made it much more difficult to prove that minorities were the target of racial gerrymandering. So long as the pretext is political, the votes of minorities can be diluted.³ Earlier, the case of LULAC v. Perry greenlit the practice of mid-decade redistricting for partisan purposes.⁴ The result of all this is a gerrymandering free-for-all.

How Does Gerrymandering Work?

Essentially, through cracking and packing. Cracking spreads disfavored votes among various districts, making it hard for them to elect legislators from their
preferred party. Packing does the opposite. It essentially crams a particular set of voters into one district, giving them a win but many more losses.

What Should We Do About Gerrymandering?

The Supreme Court will not intervene despite arguments that gerrymandering violates the Constitution. The burden to fix this falls to Congress, and legislation has been introduced to end partisan mapmaking.

Federal legislators should pass a clean bill to ban mid-decade redistricting, prohibit drawing maps with the intent of disfavoring any political party or drawing maps designed to protect a particular politician. The bill should also create a process for public input into the mapmaking process.

Political operatives are disenfranchising voters and driving a wedge through Americans through excessive partisan gerrymandering. Gerrymandering produces more extreme candidates, which makes it more difficult to address the problems facing our country. RDM is calling on Congress to take immediate action to stop partisan mapmaking to help restore faith in our democracy.

You can find your federal politicians and reach out to them to ask that they support legislation to end partisan gerrymandering.

Key Takeaways

• Partisan has a long history and continues getting worse.
• The Supreme Court has not intervened to curtail partisan gerrymandering and left it to Congress to address it.
• Gerrymandering either breaks up disfavored voters into several districts (cracking) or groups them into one district (packing).
• Federal legislators should pass a bill to ban mid-decade redistricting, prohibit drawing maps with the intent of disfavoring any political party or drawing maps designed to protect a particular politician.
• Congress should ensure there is a process for public input into the mapmaking process.
• You can make your voice heard by reaching out to your Congressperson and asking them to pass legislation ending gerrymandering.

Common Questions About Gerrymandering

What is gerrymandering?

Gerrymandering is drawing Congressional district maps to benefit a particular political party or politician.

What is the difference between cracking and packing?

Cracking is splitting voters up into different districts to prevent them from electing a candidate of their choice. Packing is grouping voters into as few districts as possible to reduce the number of candidates they can elect.

How would the Freedom to Vote Act stop gerrymandering?

The proposed Freedom to Vote Act, in Title V, would ban mid-decade redistricting, prohibit drawing maps with the intent of disfavoring any political party or drawing maps designed to protect a particular politician, and ensure there is a process for public input into the mapmaking process.

Sources

1. “Text – S.2747 – 117th Congress (2021-2022): Freedom to Vote Act.” Congress.gov, Library of Congress, 20 October 2021, https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/2747/text. ↩︎
2. “Rucho v. Common Cause.” Oyez, www.oyez.org/cases/2018/18-422. ↩︎
3. “Louisiana v. Callais (Voting Rights Act)”, SCOTUSblog,
   https://www.scotusblog.com/cases/louisiana-v-callais-2/ ↩︎
4. “League of United Latin American Citizens v. Perry.” Oyez, www.oyez.org/cases/2005/05-204.
   Accessed 8 Sep. 2026. ↩︎

About the author

Elliot Richardson

Elliot Richardson is the CEO and Co-Founder of Run Down the Middle (RDM), an evidence-based public policy and civic education and engagement platform built to help galvanize Americans searching for a better political environment and real policy solutions. An attorney and longtime public policy advocate, Elliot has spent his career bringing together business owners, advocates, policymakers and community leaders to advance practical solutions. He is also the Co-Founder and President of the Small Business Advocacy Council (SBAC), writes a monthly column for the Daily Herald and has been interviewed by numerous different media outlets. Through RDM, Elliot works to break down complex policy issues, elevate our political discourse, encourage more constructive civic participation and galvanize people around solutions.