As we go into the midterm we need to understand how votes can be manipulated. Gerrymandering has been used to keep those in power long before the term was coined.

In this episode I look at South Carolina’s 2020 redistricting effort and Texas and California’s mid-decade partisan gerrymandering.

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Sources:

History and background:

• Tucker, N. (2024). Gerrymandering: The origin story. Library of Congress Blogs. https://blogs.loc.gov/loc/2024/07/gerrymandering-the-origin-story/. Accessed January 14, 2026.
• The Reform Act of 1832. UK Parliament. https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/evolutionofparliament/houseofcommons/reformacts/overview/reformact1832/. Accessed January 17, 2026.
• Little, B. (2021). How gerrymandering began in the US. History. https://www.history.com/articles/gerrymandering-origins-voting. Accessed January 17, 2026.
• Waldman, M., Sloan, C. (2017). History frowns on partisan gerrymandering. Brennan Center. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/history-frowns-partisan-gerrymandering. Accessed January 22, 2026.
• Kincannon, L., Rickey, J.D., Thorning, M. (n.d.). Bipartisan Policy Center. https://bipartisanpolicy.org/explainer/redistricting-and-gerrymandering-what-to-know/. Accessed January 22, 2026.

South Carolina Gerrymandering:

• South Carolina. (2022). All About Redistricting. https://redistricting.lls.edu/state/south-carolina/?cycle=2020&level=Congress&startdate=2022-01-26. Accessed January 17, 2026.
• South Carolina Congressional Districts. (2020). https://rfa.sc.gov/sites/default/files/2022-04/Statewide_Congressional.pdf. Accessed January 17, 2026.
• South Carolina Congressional Districts. (2010). https://rfa.sc.gov/sites/default/files/H3992_Statewide.pdf. Accessed January 17, 2026.
• Alexander v. South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP. (2024). Oyez. https://www.oyez.org/cases/2023/22-807. Accessed January 18, 2026.
• Political question doctrine. (n.d). Cornell Law. https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/political_question_doctrine. Accessed January 18, 2026.
• League of Women Voters of South Carolina v. Alexander. (2025). Brennan Center. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/court-cases/league-women-voters-south-carolina-v-alexander. Accessed January 18, 2026.
• League of Women Voters of South Carolina v. Alexander. (2024). ACLU South Carolina. https://www.aclusc.org/cases/league-women-voters-south-carolina-v-alexander/#documents. Accessed January 18, 2026.
• Cepeda Derieux, A. I. (2025). South Carolina Supreme Court green-lights partisan gerrymandered maps. ACLU. https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/south-carolina-supreme-court-green-lights-partisan-gerrymandered-maps. Accessed January 18, 2026.

Texas:

• National Democratic Redistricting Committee (NDRC). (n.d.) Influence Watch. https://www.influencewatch.org/political-party/national-democratic-redistricting-committee-ndrc/. Accessed January 20, 2026.
• Montellaro, Z. (2023). Dems tap Obama for crucial redistricting. Politico. https://www.politico.com/news/2023/08/25/democrats-obama-redistricting-push-00113057. Accessed January 20, 2026.
• Goodman, J. D., Goldmacher, S. (2025). White House pushes Texas to redistrict, hoping to blunt Democratic gains. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/09/us/politics/trump-texas-redistricting.html. Accessed January, 22, 2026.
• Klibanoff, E. (2025). Texas House issues arrest warrants for Democrats who left state to block congressional redistricting. The Texas Tribune. https://www.texastribune.org/2025/08/04/texas-democrats-house-warrants-arrest-quorum-break/. Accessed January 22, 2026.
• Li, M. (2025). The Supreme Court messes with Texas’s voting map. Brennan Center. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/supreme-court-messes-texass-voting-map. Accessed January, 22, 2026.
• Mid-decade congressional redistricting: Key issues. (2025). Congress. https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/IF13082. Accessed January 20, 2026.
• Howe, A. (2025). Supreme Court allows Texas to use redistricting map challenged as racial discriminatory. SCOTUS Blog. https://www.scotusblog.com/2025/12/supreme-court-allows-texas-to-use-redistricting-map-challenged-as-racially-discriminatory/. Accessed January 22, 2026.
• Corasaniti, N., Koeze, E., Lu, D. (2021). How Texas plans to make its House districts even redder. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/10/03/us/politics/texas-redistricting-map-2022.html. Accessed January 22, 2026.
• Schneider, A., Fitzgerald, L. (2025). Texas based midterm redistricting south by Trump as California plans to counter. https://www.npr.org/2025/08/21/nx-s1-5496659/texas-congressional-redistricting-trump. Accessed January 22, 2026.

California:

• Yes on Prop 50: FAQ (n.d.) CADems. https://cadem.org/yes-on-proposition-50-faq/. Accessed January 22, 2026.
• Nowell, C. (2026). California Republicans ask US Supreme Court to block new congressional map. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/20/california-republican-party-block-new-maps. Accessed January 22, 2026.
• Rosenhall, L. (2026). Federal judges uphold California’s new congressional maps. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/14/us/politics/federal-court-california-redistricting-decision.html. Accessed January 22, 2026.

Solutions:

• Trounstine, J. (2025). District vs At-Large Elections. The University of Chicago Center for Effective Government. https://effectivegov.uchicago.edu/primers/district-vs-at-large-elections. Accessed January 22, 2026.
• Independent Redistricting Commissions. (n.d.). Campaign Legal Center. https://campaignlegal.org/democracyu/accountability/independent-redistricting-commissions. Accessed January 22, 2026.
• Changing the maps: Tracking mid-decade redistricting. (2026). National Conference of State Legislatures. https://www.ncsl.org/redistricting-and-census/changing-the-maps-tracking-mid-decade-redistricting. Accessed January 22, 2026.
• Ansolabehere, S., Kenny, C. T. (2024). Redistricting process reform. The University of Chicago Center for Effective Government. https://effectivegov.uchicago.edu/primers/redistricting-process-reform. Accessed January 22, 2026.