Voting rights and partisan gerrymandering, traditionally the preoccupation of wonky party strategists and good-government groups, have become major flash points in the debate about the integrity of American elections, signaling high stakes battles over voter suppression and politically engineered districts ahead of the 2020 presidential race. When Democrats take the […] Read more »
Voters Rejected Gerrymandering In 2018, But Some Lawmakers Try To Hold Power
The issue of gerrymandering — the ability of politicians to draw legislative districts to benefit their own party — burst into view as a major political issue in 2018. Even as voters and courts vigorously rejected the practice this year, politicians in some states are doing their best to remain […] Read more »
Behind G.O.P. Power Play in Midwest: Fear of Losing a Gerrymandered Advantage
… The ongoing legislative maneuvers in Michigan and Wisconsin are part of a broader war for power in the Midwest, a politically prized region for both parties — but especially for Republicans, who are trying to dilute Democratic control ahead of bigger battles. The G.O.P., which lost the House in […] Read more »
Republicans in Wisconsin and Michigan Aim to Hobble Incoming Democrats
In both Wisconsin and Michigan, Democrats followed a similar formula last month to win the governorship and other key statewide offices: big turnout in urban centers and gains in white-collar suburbs. But in each state, Republican dominance of small-town and rural communities—reinforced by a highly partisan gerrymander of legislative district […] Read more »
What’s Stronger Than a Blue Wave? Gerrymandered Districts
When the blue wave came to North Carolina, the red levees held. In a year in which Democrats picked up as many as 41 House seats, including in places as conservative as Oklahoma and Utah, they lost all three of their targets for pickups in one of the nation’s most […] Read more »
In Donald Trump’s Census, Who Counts?
In November, an improbably riveting trial began in a courtroom in Foley Square in Lower Manhattan. The case was about a single sentence in the federal government’s endless output of forms and queries. It was also a defining clash over American identity. The plaintiffs in the trial, 18 states and […] Read more »