“When Donald Trump called Georgia Republicans and said, ‘I just need you to find me 11,000 votes,’ they said, ‘No, sir, that’s a step too far.’ When he called Texas Republicans and said, ‘I need you to steal me five seats,’ they said, ‘Does July work for you?’ Well, it doesn’t work for us.” (TX Rep. Ann Johnson)
Gerrymandering is one of those things that makes people tune out of politics. It doesn’t just sound technical and complicated; it feels so far outside our control. But it’s important to understand because we all deserve to have our votes count. Gerrymandering is essentially politicians choosing their voters, rather than the other way around. And in Texas, Democratic reps like Ann Johnson are standing up for voters.
Both parties have been known to participate in gerrymandering, but over the past few decades, it’s mostly been Republicans manipulating the maps. That’s not political speculation — many Republican leaders have come right out and said so. They even have an official project, named Operation REDMAP, which stands for Republican Redistricting Majority Project. Unfortunately, the project has been extremely successful so far.
You may wonder… how is this even legal?
Racial gerrymandering has been outlawed since the Voting Rights Act of 1965, but the Supreme Court keeps ruling that partisan gerrymandering is fine. So what’s happening in Texas, where President Trump asked Republican reps to redraw district lines to favor himself, may be wrong and anti-democratic, but it’s not illegal. As Rep. Mitch Little said in an interview, “We’re doing it because we can.”
We’re grateful to Democratic representatives like Ann Johnson who are fighting back against gerrymandering. And we’re very excited that she’ll be joining Red Wine & Blue on Monday to talk about what’s going on in Texas! You can sign up for our Don’t Mess With Texas virtual event here.
Share this post