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I’ve long believed that the singular cancer in our democracy is political gerrymandering. It’s the reason Congress doesn’t work the way it should. It’s why fewer and fewer Americans feel represented. And it’s why I keep saying: if we don’t fix the way we draw our maps, we can’t fix the way we govern.
That’s not a procedural tweak. It’s foundational. And as we head into another round of elections shaped by the 2020 census maps, the stakes couldn’t be clearer: if we don’t stop this arms race now, future elections won’t just be contested. They’ll be meaningless.
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Gerrymandering Explained
Every 10 years, after the U.S. Census, states redraw their congressional and legislative districts. That process should be about reflecting where people live and ensuring equal representation. But in most states, it isn’t.
In most states, politicians themselves control how districts are drawn. That means the party in power after the census isn’t just setting policy. It’s deciding which voters will even have a fair shot to hold them accountable. The mapmaking process becomes partisan by design because the very people whose power is at stake are the ones drawing the lines.
Here’s how: they “pack” opposition voters into as few districts as possible, or “crack” them across many districts so their voices never add up to a majority. With modern technology and voter data, these maps aren’t guesswork. They’re surgical. They can predict with stunning accuracy which party will control a seat for years to come. The goal is to create as many safe seats as possible for the party in power.
Republicans like to pretend this is just routine housekeeping. Democrats in the past have done the same. Both sides have tried to spin it as tradition, a tool every party uses when in power. But let’s call it what it is: politicians picking their voters instead of voters picking their politicians. That’s not democracy—it’s rigging the game.
The Consequences
The damage goes far beyond funny-looking districts on a map. Gerrymandering has very real consequences:
Safe seats mean extreme politics. When reelection is guaranteed, the only threat comes from a primary challenger. That pushes politicians to the far edges of their party instead of the middle.
Voters lose their voice. Entire communities find their power diluted—sometimes split into three or four districts just to make sure they never have a majority.
Accountability disappears. Representatives stop worrying about persuading independents or building coalitions. They cater only to the loudest voices in their base.
Gridlock becomes permanent. With fewer competitive seats, there are fewer incentives to compromise, and Congress grinds to a halt.
In short, gerrymandering locks in division. It creates politicians who know how to win primaries but not how to govern and solve problems. And it leaves millions of Americans feeling like their votes simply don’t matter.
How Republicans Supercharged the Problem and Democrats Missed the Moment
Gerrymandering has existed for centuries, but starting in 2011 Republicans turned it into a national strategy. Backed by sophisticated software and dark-money campaigns, they targeted state legislatures, knowing that whoever held the pen after the census would lock in control of Congress for a decade. It worked. Even when Republicans lost the popular vote, carefully engineered maps kept them in power.
The latest escalation came in Texas, where Governor Greg Abbott delivered a new gerrymander after Donald Trump personally pressed him to “find five more seats.” The message was clear: maps could do what votes could not.
California and other Democratic-led states have responded in kind. To their credit, some of these processes are more transparent, requiring voter approval instead of backroom deals. But the effect is the same: an arms race that erodes public trust. If every state treats maps as a weapon, voters will assume the system is rigged no matter who holds power.
And here’s where Democrats must face the mirror. We had our chances to stop this. When Democrats briefly held 60 votes in the Senate during the Obama administration, we should have passed a series of democracy reforms including one that outlawed extreme gerrymanders nationwide. More recently, we were one filibuster carve-out away from enacting the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, which would have set strong federal guardrails. The House Democrats passed the bill, President Joe Biden was ready to sign it, but Senators Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona refused to agree to a carve-out of the filibuster rules to allow for this needed reform. These two often talked about the need for more bipartisanship and cooperation in Congress. It is ironic that they couldn’t see the forest from the trees. They were too enamored with the filibuster and couldn’t recognize that the greatest threat to a functioning Congress was gerrymandered districts. Because of them we lost the moment.
Those missed opportunities are a painful reminder: if you want to defend democracy, you can’t hesitate when you have the power and have the right people to act.
The Solution That Works: Independent Commissions
So what do we do? We take the map pen out of the hands of the interested and give it to the independent. Bipartisan—or better yet, nonpartisan—redistricting commissions are the most straightforward way to restore accountability and moderation. States like Arizona and Michigan already use them successfully.
Here’s how they work: voters approve criteria in advance. Mapmakers must respect communities of interest and competitiveness. We must adhere to the racial guidelines established by the Voting Rights Act. Draft maps are public. Challenges go to neutral arbiters—not party bosses.
This isn’t starry-eyed idealism. It’s how you rebuild trust in democracy. Fair rules attract talent, force accountability, and make governing possible again. And when districts are fair and competitive, the people who win them look more like America—and they legislate with more of America in mind.
Where we go from here
Former Attorney General Eric Holder chairs the National Democratic Redistricting Committee. He joined me for a recent episode of At Our Table, and it made it clear that planning for 2029 has to start now. In order to protect against gerrymandering, which he called “an attack on our democracy” he said “we need to rebuild and reimagine some of the institutions in place.”
I couldn’t agree more. But we also have to be honest: most of the states that have adopted commissions are run by Democrats. I’m for commissions but this can’t be another case where Democrats reform while Republicans exploit. It has to be all states, or it won’t work. Democrats can’t keep tying one arm behind our backs while the other side gerrymanders us into oblivion. That’s why the order matters.
First, pass a stronger Voting Rights Act—like the John Lewis VRA—that restores DOJ pre-clearance enforcement (or provides enforcement to a commission of retired judges), modernizes protections for vulnerable communities, mandates the creation of commissions in all fifty states for federal elections, and sets national standards for fair maps. Then, establish independent commissions in every state under the same rules.
National standards are a must. Commissions risk becoming a patchwork of good intentions in blue states and bad faith in red ones. Politicians like Trump will find a way to manipulate. Fairness can’t be partisan; it has to be the rule everywhere. Voters should be able to go to every state and expect the same treatment.
So here’s the project—simple, urgent, doable:
Restore the Voting Rights Act and set federal guardrails against extreme gerrymanders.
Adopt independent commissions everywhere. Put the rules on the ballot and let the people decide.
Use power to protect democracy. Don’t negotiate against yourself. Pass the bills when you have the votes.
Demand media and congressional vigilance. Normalize the norms, not the abuses.
If you want a healthier middle, give it a fair map. If you want a Congress that works, stop treating democracy like a game of lines and start treating it like a promise.
Commissions in every state. Voters choosing leaders. Leaders accountable to voters. That’s not a partisan dream. That’s the minimum standard for a country that wants to call itself a democracy.
And it can’t just be talk. Every Democratic candidate—up and down the ballot—should pledge to support this reform and do what’s necessary to make it real. That means if you are a candidate for the U.S. Senate, yes, you will have to carve voting rights out of the filibuster.
Passing a stronger Voting Rights Act, setting national standards, and creating independent commissions everywhere should be a shared Democratic commitment, not an afterthought.
Fair maps would restore the center of American politics, where leaders can actually solve problems.
Let’s build it—together, and on the level.
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