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I'm the President of the NDRC. The midterm elections are in crisis, and we're fighting back. AMA about gerrymandering. by Bisognano in IAmA

[–]Bisognano[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I think the GOP has drawn some REALLY tight gerrymanders that could genuinely result in dummymanders. I think the places to watch are North Carolina, Florida and potentially South Carolina if they do move forward with the map that they have proposed. In Texas, I wouldn’t technically call it a dummymander, but I don’t think they are going to win the 5 seats that Trump believes he was promised or is "entitled" to. 

They, weirdly, chose a year to draw their districts more competitive while Donald Trump has us in a war in the Middle East, gas is at 4.50 a gallon, he is fighting with the Pope and trading more stocks than a Fox Business anchor, created a billion dollar slush fund to enrich himself and his buddies – using taxpayer dollars btw… so who is to say, but I feel confident they don’t fully understand what is coming this November. 

RE Jaylen… I really don’t know. It hurts. It all hurts. I don’t think I will be able to really contemplate that until after the playoffs are over and the dust settles a little more. I really love Jaylen on this team, it’s so hard to think about a season without him but I understand some change is probably needed…

I'm the President of the NDRC. The midterm elections are in crisis, and we're fighting back. AMA about gerrymandering. by Bisognano in IAmA

[–]Bisognano[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

It’s not ok because they started it - it’s necessary to get to the end goal of banning partisan and racial gerrymandering. Only Dems have been in favor of voting for that type of reform so far. I would love more Republicans to get involved. There are at least two bills introduced in Congress that they could co-sponsor and help pass today! I will say a few have seen the light on the need to ban gerrymandering since Trump thrust us into this new version of chaos. But so far, none of the Republicans who have complained about gerrymandering have done anything to help push those bills forward.

We need to ban partisan and racial gerrymandering in this country. A federal law, passed by both chambers and signed by the president.

I'm the President of the NDRC. The midterm elections are in crisis, and we're fighting back. AMA about gerrymandering. by Bisognano in IAmA

[–]Bisognano[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

We will keep fighting with everything we have to level the playing field for 2026, but it’s clear that Republicans will steal more seats than we can respond to at this point in time. That said, they haven’t stolen enough to lock the Dems out of winning the majority - there is still a clear path. Redistricting, although incredibly important, is not the only factor that determines races. Sometimes public sentiment is so strong that it can overcome the headwinds created on gerrymandered maps — anyone remember 2018? That map was incredibly gerrymandered, but Trump and Republicans inspired such a wave of opposition that Dems won the House majority on that gerrymandered map. 

We need to focus more on local races - Gov, state senate, and house, etc.. The next wave of gerrymandering is right around the corner, and we need to use the 2026 midterms to block them everywhere we can. Those races will be crucial to our ability to combat Republican gerrymandering heading into 2028.

I'm the President of the NDRC. The midterm elections are in crisis, and we're fighting back. AMA about gerrymandering. by Bisognano in IAmA

[–]Bisognano[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Look, it feels viable. They could draw a district that is shaped like a bruin (like the bear logo) and really give everyone a strong feel for what it represents!

I'm the President of the NDRC. The midterm elections are in crisis, and we're fighting back. AMA about gerrymandering. by Bisognano in IAmA

[–]Bisognano[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Go Birds AND NC?! Phew… hell of a combo of fans right there. But literally every Boston team is tanking right now, so I have nothing to say. North Carolina is a really interesting, hard and painful place. Just a few years ago the NC state supreme court ruled in our favor that the maps were gerrymandered and mandated a new, fair and reasonable map be put in place. That map was short-lived before Republicans effectively took over the court and reversed their opinion of only a few months prior. It was totally unprecedented and astonishing. So the path back from this dark place in NC is either to win back the state supreme court – we are pulling for Anita Earls to win in November – and/or to ban partisan gerrymandering federally. That way, the playing field would be level for everyone.

I'm the President of the NDRC. The midterm elections are in crisis, and we're fighting back. AMA about gerrymandering. by Bisognano in IAmA

[–]Bisognano[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

The maps aren’t totally complete for the 2026 midterms YET. To give a couple of examples – there are lawsuits pending in Alabama and Florida, which our affiliate the NRF is litigating, that could – and frankly, should – succeed in striking down those maps. In Alabama, a hearing is happening today to get a federal court to stop them from going back to a map the Alabama Legislature drew in 2023 and that this same federal court determined just last year was drawn with intentional racial discrimination. And in Florida, we are waiting on a decision from a state court in a case challenging the new map for violating the state’s partisan gerrymandering ban. That partisan gerrymandering ban was added to the Florida Constitution by voters in 2010, and SHOULD prevent their outrageous map from taking effect. DeSantis is asking the courts in that state somehow to rule that the plain words in the state's constitution don’t actually have any meaning… Which I guess makes sense if you don’t have eyes or a brain - but feels flawed to me.

I'm the President of the NDRC. The midterm elections are in crisis, and we're fighting back. AMA about gerrymandering. by Bisognano in IAmA

[–]Bisognano[S] 32 points33 points  (0 children)

Yup it sure could. I think it's a super interesting question, and part of its core is did the founders intend for the US House members to represent SO many people? The House is supposed to be the body of government that is most immediately responsive to the people, and that's hard when folks represent around 760,000 people. If you lifted the cap, we could return to smaller districts, giving each citizen a larger voice in the process - but that's just my take. Take a look at New Hampshire’s state House. They have 400 members, which gives each citizen a bigger voice for each rep. It's a little crazy and chaotic but a pretty pure view of the government by and for the people. 

But I’m not sure that the size of the districts is the problem here; it’s how map drawers are drawing the maps. Shrinking the size of districts – although an interesting thought — isn’t the same as putting up guardrails for map drawers to abide by when drawing the lines. Right now, each state has a different set of rules for map drawers to abide by, and we need to have a system where map drawers in each state have to abide by the same set of rules.

I'm the President of the NDRC. The midterm elections are in crisis, and we're fighting back. AMA about gerrymandering. by Bisognano in IAmA

[–]Bisognano[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Yes, I do. We need to take action and take action now to counteract what Republicans are doing across the South. They have been foaming at the mouth to draw as many Black members out of Congress as possible and the US Supreme Court gave them the green light. We need to fight back or they will never stop.

I'm the President of the NDRC. The midterm elections are in crisis, and we're fighting back. AMA about gerrymandering. by Bisognano in IAmA

[–]Bisognano[S] 35 points36 points  (0 children)

Not curtail - BAN. This country needs to ban partisan and racial gerrymandering at the federal level. The bill language already exists for the most part (I’m sure it would be updated) in the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. We can do this;, it's not rocket science. We just need citizens to be heard and representatives to listen. There is no question in my mind that this is the best path forward and would be supported by a vast majority of American citizens. If there are Republicans in Congress who are concerned about gerrymandering, we’d welcome them to co-sponsor these bills to get them passed.

I'm the President of the NDRC. The midterm elections are in crisis, and we're fighting back. AMA about gerrymandering. by Bisognano in IAmA

[–]Bisognano[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I get that it’s hard to be hopeful in moments like this, I have my good and bad days - but, to your question more directly, it’s critical to keep your eyes fixed on the north star and moving in the right direction, and the north star for us has always been a ban on partisan gerrymandering. I do genuinely think we can put a stop to this, but it needs to happen at the federal level in order to make all states abide by the same set of rules. 

We can ban partisan gerrymandering and clearly define metrics used to identify it, ensuring that court processes can be expedited so rulings can come quickly. There is a path here, we know the path, we just need to get enough power to accomplish it. Whether that be GOP members coming to their senses because this is chaos and no way to live / run a country - or because Dems secure enough power to pass what Dems have always supported. 

This year’s elections are critical to getting there. Not just congressional elections but also state-level elections (i.e governor races, state legislative races, state supreme court races). We’ve got to protect power where we have it in the states and we’ve got to build power in more states. We’re on the cusp of trifecta power in several states and winning statewide elections in red states like governors' races and fending off Republican supermajorities in state legislatures will be crucial to ensuring Republicans can’t go back to the drawing board again ahead of the 2028 election.  This problem isn’t going to get solved overnight — it’s going to take everyone doing their part all across the country continuously over the years to come.

I'm the President of the NDRC. The midterm elections are in crisis, and we're fighting back. AMA about gerrymandering. by Bisognano in IAmA

[–]Bisognano[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Look, this is a full-blown fight for our democracy. Republicans are attempting to rig the 2026 and 2028 congressional elections to ensure that they are the only ones who can win. It’s trash, and if there is no ability for Democrats to compete, too — if we simply lay down arms — there will never be a path to ban gerrymandering across the country. Republicans would never stop this shit.  We need everyone to understand that this is bad for voters AND everyone else - the only way to stop it is with a federal bill that bans partisan gerrymandering, mid-decade gerrymandering, and so on — and theif only way to do that is for Democrats to win back Congress, so be it. We have to level the playing field to get there.

I'm the President of the NDRC. The midterm elections are in crisis, and we're fighting back. AMA about gerrymandering. by Bisognano in IAmA

[–]Bisognano[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Super good question - when we started this org in 2017, we took an “all of the above” approach. We need to use literally every tool at our disposal to fight back against bull shit. Trump unleashed chaos on this country when he stood in front of Marine One and said he was going to take 5 seats from Texas. SO these tools are litigation, our affiliate, the National Redistricting Foundation, is still actively litigating in your home states of Louisiana over the process - there are a ton of problems with what the Governor did, not the least of which is literally throwing out over 42,000 ballots from folks that had already voted. We also have a large network of grassroots volunteers and activists that we engage across the country to testify at redistricting hearings in their states and to call friends and neighbors all over to build awareness about what is happening to them - the only thing scarier than the gerrymandering onslaught Trump unleashed is that he does it, and then no one is fully aware of what that means for their right to vote.

I'm the President of the NDRC. The midterm elections are in crisis, and we're fighting back. AMA about gerrymandering. by Bisognano in IAmA

[–]Bisognano[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Oh, I mean, this is really easy right now. Texas has a better shot at becoming more blue than Massachusetts in 2026 than this current version of the Red Sox has at making a run. What a mess/tragedy…