By Kevin Henning
For the “Progressive Views” column, Boerne Star, May 23, 2026
Partisan and racial gerrymandering are major contributors to the current polarization in our nation. This polarization has led to a dysfunctional government dominated by extreme views. Moderate conservative and moderate progressive voters are often left out of the discussion, letting extreme views dominate.
There is an emerging bipartisan effort in Congress to get us back on track, but without the electorate pushing, we may be on the brink of losing our democracy after 250 years. The Supreme Court’s most recent Voting Rights Act (VRA) decision is part of a trend of decisions which wage war on our constitutional democracy by allowing states to dilute the political power of minority voters and to silence the voice of moderate voters. This dilution of power and the corrupting influence of big money in politics seek to stifle the voice of the people.
The 2010 “Citizen’s United” Supreme Court ruling paved the way for huge money to enter politics. The Court’s 2013 “Shelby” decision torpedoed “preclearance,” the most important part of the VRA. Preclearance had prevented states like Texas from implementing draconian election rules and drawing racially discriminatory voting districts. In 2019, the Supreme Court’s 5 to 4 decision in the “Rucho” case, tragically ruled that federal courts have no authority to address partisan gerrymandering.
In the recent “Louisiana v. Callais” decision, the court eliminated VRA protections that kept lawmakers from drawing districts that dilute the political power of minorities. The VRA was the most important piece of the movement to bring racial justice to the United States. The court is saying racial discrimination is not an issue, that it no longer exists, when of course it does. We are also seeing ridiculous legislation like the SAVE Act, fortunately stalled in the Senate. Under the guise of improving voter security this legislation just wants to make it harder for folks to vote.
So racial discrimination is now okay, and the curse of political gerrymandering is all the rage. Political gerrymandering creates tremendous distortions in representation. The League of Women Voters had this to say: “Political and racial gerrymandering distorts and undermines representative democracy. It allows officials to choose their voters rather than voters choosing who represents them. Especially when done for purposes of racial discrimination and/or to ensure the dominance of one political party, gerrymandering runs counter to equal voting rights for all. The lack of moderate winners reduces the ‘moderate middle’ and makes cooperation between parties more difficult, leading to hyper-partisanship.”
Gerrymandering remains unpopular among a vast majority of voters, yet it is getting worse. Republicans hope the new Texas congressional map will give the GOP 30 of Texas’ 38 congressional seats, up from 25 which was already unfair. The Princeton Gerrymandering Project gives the red Texas congressional map an “F” in partisan fairness and how oddly the districts are shaped. Blue Illinois also gets an “F” and has some of the most unfair maps in the nation. Take a look at our Texas 21 Congressional District–it looks like some kind of space monster. Partisan gerrymandering must stop for the good of America. Moderates must regain a voice in government.
Congress can ban partisan gerrymandering and bring back fairness. The 2022 Freedom to Vote Act was an attempt to tackle the issue but failed in the U. S. Senate. Finally, Republicans and Democrats are starting to see that we must have uniform national standards. In Texas we must push our legislature to establish a non-partisan redistricting commission, and we must elect a governor who won’t veto that legislation. The Brennan Center for Justice is a champion of voting rights and fairness; they sum up the situation: “Abandoning the solemn commitment America made to guarantee equal representation regardless of race is a grave threat to our system of governance. And the fact that the Supreme Court has done it to enable partisan gamesmanship offends that legacy.”
The forces that seek to divide us must be challenged. How wonderful to see the Texas Supreme Court repudiate Abbott’s attempt to remove Democratic State Representative Wu from office because of his redistricting protect. Perhaps this is the first step.
For more information on the Kendall County Democratic Party, subscribe to our newsletter on our website, call our office at 830-331-1243, or visit www.kendalltxdemocrats.org/.
Kevin Henning is a local Democrat.
