Republican-led legislatures in several Southern states are redrawing their congressional maps following a recent Supreme Court ruling related to the Voting Rights Act. The reconfigured maps should reduce the influence of Democratic districts ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Democrats have heavily criticized Republicans redistricting plan arguing they dilute minority voting and comparing it to the era of Jim Crow and pre-1965 politics. Democrats are even taking legal action to stop the new maps.
Republican leaders are defending the maps, stating they are legal, partisan-driven efforts aimed at political advantage, rather than any type of racial discrimination.
As Democrats claim Republican redistricting is racially discriminatory, under current federal law, both political parties—Republicans and Democrats—have the legal right to redistrict for partisan advantage. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Rucho v. Common Cause several years ago that partisan gerrymandering presents “political questions” beyond the federal courts.
Both major political parties have been using, and benefited from, partisan gerrymandering throughout American history, and Democrats are known for utilized gerrymandering in the states they control.