From California to Virginia, we need a full ceasefire on gerrymandering
California voters passed Proposition 50, suspending the Citizens Redistricting Commission until the 2030 Census, and Virginia voters approved new partisan electoral maps, suspending their citizens' redistricting commission. Both decisions mark a reversal of efforts to reduce partisan gerrymandering.
California's Citizens Redistricting Commission, established after the 2010 Census, was suspended by voters earlier this year through Proposition 50. The commission was designed to remove self-interested actors from the redistricting process. Gov. Gavin Newsom championed the measure as a counter to Republican actions in Texas. In Virginia, voters approved new partisan electoral maps and suspended their citizens' redistricting commission by a narrow margin. The decisions in California and Virginia are part of a broader trend of partisan gerrymandering, with Texas, North Carolina, and Missouri also redrawing their congressional maps. The author argues that this tit-for-tat cycle is eroding the premise of representative government. The suspension of citizens' redistricting commissions in California and Virginia is expected to intensify political pressure to protect incumbents.
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