We Can End Gerrymandering. Here's How.
The right fix through the right method.
My last few posts have discussed gerrymandering’s ills. It weakens our votes. It empowers the minority. And it threatens to make the House of Representatives even less ‘representative’ — and electorally competitive — in 2026.
A frustrating thing about politics is that we often diagnose problems without prescribing their solutions. We a) grab your attention, b) piss you off, c) repeat.
But not today.
Casey and I are sharing the solution(s) to partisan gerrymandering. Some of these are plausible. Many are not. But here’s the path — especially if we want a Congress that more than 24% of us approve of.
[Note: This article focuses on congressional gerrymandering. State legislative gerrymandering is similar, but let’s tackle one problem at a time.]
Fix #1: Independent Redistricting Commissions
A small group of citizens — equally representing left, right, and center — draws your state’s congressional lines. Recently, Princeton mathematicians analyzed and graded each state’s approach to congressional gerrymandering. With the exceptions of California (which got a B) and Hawaii (where the data was unavailable), every state that uses independent redistricting commissions got an A. Even Virginia (which uses a mix of citizens and politicians) and New Jersey (which only uses politicians) got As because their commissions have equal party membership.
So, how does one create a commission in their state?
Federally, Congress could pass a law to mandate independent redistricting commissions (most Democrats support this, most Republicans don’t). The last time a standalone bill was proposed was in 2023 (but it didn’t make it out of the Judiciary Committee). Another option is for the Supreme Court to overrule its precedent in Rucho v. Common Cause to say that yes, federal courts can decide partisan gerrymandering cases and states must use commissions — but those odds are tiny.
And a third option is for two-thirds of Congress to pass a constitutional amendment to require commissions, which must also be ratified by 38 states (a very high bar).
In short, this Congress — and SCOTUS — are unlikely to pursue these paths (and FWIW the president has no power to unilaterally affect gerrymandering).
That leaves things up to each state’s legislature, supreme court, or…
…you.
Unlike federal laws (which only Congress makes), some states let their residents write and pass laws or constitutional amendments (you’ve probably heard of these as ballot ‘measures,’ ‘referendums,’ or ‘initiatives’). Sometimes a legislature will put a law or amendment on the ballot to be voted on by the public (instead of by the legislature). But, in 23 states, you can write your own laws and amendments — put them on the ballot — and bypass your state’s government entirely.
In 2018, a woman named Katie Fahey turned a viral Facebook post (going viral on Facebook tells you how old this was) into a ballot measure enshrining the use of an independent redistricting commission in Michigan’s constitution. Katie and her associates weren’t politicians, lawmakers, or even lawyers (maybe some were) — but they circumvented Michigan’s government and ended gerrymandering themselves. As a direct result, Michigan’s congressional maps were given an A based on their partisan fairness.
Unfortunately, not every state lets you initiate a law (statute) or amendment — but if you want to check your state’s rules, go here:
Ideas #2-4: Multi-Member Districts, At-Large Members, or Proportional Representation
For this, Congress could pass a law — or send a constitutional amendment to the states (for 38 to ratify) — that ends single-member districts and creates multi-member ones (because fewer, larger districts are harder to gerrymander). Congress could even abolish districts altogether and have members of the House represent the whole state ‘at large’ like senators do (or like Alaska, Delaware, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming, which each only have one House member).
Congress could even switch from ‘winner-take-all’ elections to proportional representation. In this system, congressional districts are effectively thrown out—no gerrymandering!—and seats to the House are awarded based on the proportion of votes won by each party. For example, if Democrats win 40% of the votes in a given state, they’d win roughly 40% of that state’s allotted number of representatives to serve in the House. (This system could also be used within large, multi-member districts.)
The use of single-member congressional districts is required by federal law, which means Congress (or an activist Supreme Court) must undo it. Again, this Congress and SCOTUS are unlikely to do that, which means multi-member districts, no districts, and proportional representation appear out of reach.
[Note: There’s a way to amend the U.S. Constitution without going through Congress, but it involves 34 state legislatures calling a convention and 38 states ratifying any amendments proposed there. It’s possible, but it’s also never happened, so we’re not including it as feasible.]
Conclusion
When politicians ignore you — which, you know, is the opposite of their job — in many states you can ignore them and pass stuff anyway. To be clear, this requires significant time, organization, and money. But as Michigan (2018), California (2010), and Arizona (2000) have proved, it’s possible.
It’s unfortunate that 33 states use their legislature (whichever party controls it) to draw their state’s congressional lines. Meanwhile, 11 states use commissions — and the Princeton geniuses say they have the fairest maps. (The other six states have only one House member, so they can’t be gerrymandered.)
When politics becomes frustrating, messy, and corrupt, you can either vote for new leaders or do the job yourself.
If your state allows for citizen-initiated ballot measures and doesn’t already have an independent redistricting commission — which narrows it down to (at least) Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Oregon—
—then you’ve got a job to do.
 | A guest post by
|