Stacking the Deck

Gerrymandering is a hellscape of political partisanship. Congressional maps look like my six-year-old shook an Etch-A-Sketch and somehow produced all 435 House districts. In this kindergarten full of unruly, selfish toddlers, we have girls versus boys in an all-out war for themselves. The adults in the room try to keep it fair, but the class is out of control and the principal is encouraging the boys to stab the girls in the eye with their pencils. We are entering a time of all-out war for inequality in the House of Representatives. The frontlines are Texas and California—the wild west of politics. It's no surprise that we are walking into a gunfight. In Texas, the Republicans haven't been caught with cards up their sleeves; they told everyone at the table they will cheat to win. Spurned, California Governor Gavin Newsom is unwilling to fold.

There is a bit of hypocrisy in Newsom's proposal for redistricting, however. It is unpopular, reactive, and risky. But is it worth it? It goes against the policy that Californians have supported for the last 15 years. The Voters First Act (Prop 11) in November of 2008 passed with just 50.8% of the vote, creating the California Citizens Redistricting Commission for state legislative districts. It was bolstered to include Congressional districts by Prop 20 in 2010 with 61.2% of the vote. These laws have been instrumental in creating fair districts in California. This new plan to redistrict in California withdraws from these laws and may backfire due to its unpopularity and the very real threat of legal challenges. The system is thoughtful: the State Auditor's office sorts through the thousands of citizens who apply to become commissioners. The rules are simple: be 18, a California resident for 5 years, and registered to vote. Candidates are disqualified if they are elected officials, lobbyists, or recent political party staff. The pool of applicants is narrowed to 60 semi-finalists consisting of 20 Democrats, 20 Republicans, and 20 non-partisans. Legislative leaders can strike up to 24 of these semi-finalists to create a more balanced pool of candidates. The Auditor then selects 3 Democrats, 3 Republicans, and 2 non-partisans. The 8 choose another six from the semi-finalist pool for a total of 14 commissioners who then redraw the maps. They use census data, geographic information systems, and public input from hearings and submissions to ensure neighborhoods, cultural groups, and communities stay together for fair representation. This level of commitment to fairness is inspiring, but it's in danger.

In Texas, however, it's a totally different ballgame. Governor Greg Abbott and the Texas State Legislature redraw the maps themselves. The GOP controls both the Texas House and Senate. The people in charge of Texas's redistricting care about power and power alone. They have never, ever pretended to be fair. Greg Abbott has called special sessions to draw these maps for one purpose—to maintain the Republican stranglehold on Texas and Congress. The goal is to redraw the maps by splitting or packing five Democratic strongholds in Dallas, Austin, Houston, and South Texas. This time the Etch-A-Sketch will stretch in thin lines from city centers to the borders of Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Mexico—completely cutting four million neighbors off from fair representation. Ordinary Texans will be disenfranchised if their plan succeeds. They are playing games with people who deserve to have their voices heard. How do you hold a town hall for a district that stretches from southeast Austin to the U.S.–Mexico border? Unfortunately, the legislature is so heavily slanted that unless the public outcry is simply unbearable, they will follow through. The GOP is fine with playing dirty to win. The reality is Republicans are less popular in Texas than the state itself projects. The popular vote in Texas is actually very close—a difference of 1.7 million votes between 15.2 million voters statewide. That's not as huge of a margin as they would like you to think it is. Gerrymandering makes the disparity even greater. A redistricting now would be extremely difficult to reverse. Texans need to speak up. 65.8% of their Congressional seats are Republican-held due to previous gerrymandering; if this effort succeeds, 75.8% will be Republican-held. Public discussions and protests to raise awareness of this issue are critical. An 88-to-62 margin in the Texas House and 20-to-11 in the Senate in favor of Republicans means without public pressure, this will pass; Greg Abbott will sign it.

It's time to fight back. This seems like right versus left right now, but this is about the balance of power. Republicans draped in the aesthetic of Americana—the flag, the Constitution, and the AR-15—have hijacked these symbols for their own version of identity politics. The hypocrisy of their movement is the antithesis of freedom. Every virtue they pretend to hold is violated by the man they would have as king. This is dangerous, it is stupid, and it is wrong. The balance of power is at stake. Democrats have been demonized and demeaned, but by any measure are more principled and fair. The fight is for representation—representation of the common interest versus the interests of rich old men who only get greedier. The Texas House members have put themselves at great personal and financial risk to resist this effort. We should support them in any and every way we can. In social media posts, use the #StopTheStealTX hashtag to help raise awareness—social media is powerful, and it should be used to bring attention as much as possible. TexasHouseDems.org is the official Texas Democratic Caucus website. There you can contact your State Democratic Reps, donate, and get more info on who is representing you in Texas and how—directly from the Caucus. Common Cause Texas is holding workshops to teach ordinary Texans how to testify at redistricting hearings. The events will be held in person in Dallas and Austin, and online. If you live in Texas, you should absolutely go to: commoncausetexas.org to get more info and sign up. MOVE Texas is a group actively registering voters and canvassing in Austin, San Antonio, and Houston. By texting VOTE to 512-717-1693 they can check your voter registration status, connect you to local canvassing efforts, and keep you educated about upcoming issues and elections. They will also remind you on election day, so you don't miss an opportunity to make your vote count. Republicans love it when you don't vote. The Texas Civil Rights Project (TCRP) is preparing for lawsuits if the new map goes through. 866-OUR-VOTE is their hotline to report voter suppression issues, like voter intimidation, being turned away at polls, or voter registration problems. They have filed numerous suits before to fight on behalf of Black and Latino voters who have been discriminated against in Texas. On the legal front, they are a powerhouse ready to argue in court for fairness and to stop the GOP's gerrymandering, but they are like the fire department—great when you need them, but only after the problem has become all too real. We need to stop this before it starts. That starts with you. Republican lawmakers abdicate their duty dutifully—they bow and clap before a gilded altar. Donald Trump is ruining this country, and it's the pathetic sycophants who refuse to speak up who are allowing this to happen. This isn't Right or Left; it's right and wrong. Stand up for yourself, and the country. Let's do it together, for each other. See you in the streets.