Last month, President Trump told Republicans in Texas and other states to redraw their congressional maps to help secure a Republican majority in the House of Representatives in the 2026 midterm elections: “Texas will be the biggest one. And that’ll be five.”

Republicans in the state legislature responded immediately. It is “absolutely permissible to draw maps on maximizing partisan advantage,” State Rep. Brian Harrison declared. Texas Democrats, vastly outnumbered in the legislature, tried to delay a vote in the special session called by Gov. Greg Abbott (R) by leaving the state, but the Republicans' supermajority made the outcome inevitable.

“We have got to recognize the cards that have been dealt,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) announced, “and we have got to meet fire with fire.” To “offset the rigging of maps in red states,” Newsom called for a referendum to let California bypass its redistricting commission and create five more congressional districts favorable to Democrats.

Gerrymandering dates back to the 19th century, but it has intensified in recent decades due to residential self-sorting, software that can........

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