# What is happening with gerrymandering ahead of the 2026 election **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [October 19, 2025, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-happening-with-gerrymandering-ahead-of-the-2026-election/1024103 "2025-10-19T22:24:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2025, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-happening-with-gerrymandering-ahead-of-the-2026-election/1024103/1 "2025-10-19T22:24:35Z")
Is the supreme court planning to allow racial gerrymandering, and if so does that mean the GOP could gain 10-20 house seats in the south? Are blue states planning any gerrymandering? I know theres talk in CA, IL and NY, but I don’t know if any real action has been done. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2025, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-happening-with-gerrymandering-ahead-of-the-2026-election/1024103/2 "2025-10-20T01:29:14Z")
Missouri has already gerrymandered to split its 5th Congressional district (metro Kansas City) among three different districts stretching into the rural parts of the state. The move either is or is not allowed by the state Constitution and either can or can’t be overturned by voters. Let’s just say there are a lot of court cases pending. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2025, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-happening-with-gerrymandering-ahead-of-the-2026-election/1024103/3 "2025-10-20T02:00:18Z")
Except for Texas, the gerrymanding that is going to be done for 2026 is already done. Be more concerned about purging legitimate voters from rolls, intimidating voters, and influencing election boards to find arbitrary reasons to reject votes. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2025, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-happening-with-gerrymandering-ahead-of-the-2026-election/1024103/4 "2025-10-21T01:10:14Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Except for Texas, the gerrymanding that is going to be done for 2026 is already done. California will do some retaliatory gerrymandering before the 2026 election if Proposition 50 passes next month. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2025, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-happening-with-gerrymandering-ahead-of-the-2026-election/1024103/5 "2025-10-21T02:02:57Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > California will do some retaliatory gerrymandering before the 2026 election if Proposition 50 passes next month. And the race to the bottom of violating democratic norms continues apace. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2025, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-happening-with-gerrymandering-ahead-of-the-2026-election/1024103/6 "2025-10-21T02:38:21Z")
Aren’t Republicans near maxed out on gerrymandering? How much more could they possibly get? Also, gerrymandering can hurt as much as it can help. By making more districts light-red, it makes it more likely that they would flip purple or light-blue in a wave anti-GOP backlash election, thus handing the Democrats _more_ House seats. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2025, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-happening-with-gerrymandering-ahead-of-the-2026-election/1024103/7 "2025-10-21T02:48:00Z")
Also, if you turn a strong red (or blue) district into a leaning one, you are going to have to be spending more election resources there. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2025, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-happening-with-gerrymandering-ahead-of-the-2026-election/1024103/8 "2025-10-21T03:42:39Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > And the race to the bottom of violating democratic norms continues apace. To be fair, gerrymandering has been the democratic norm since 1789. California and other states tried to change that but it’s like disarming while your enemy continues to arm themselves to the gills. Believe me, the last thing I would have thought I would be doing in 2025 was voting for gerrymandering…but here we are. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2025, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-happening-with-gerrymandering-ahead-of-the-2026-election/1024103/9 "2025-11-18T19:33:43Z")
> **[Federal court blocks new Texas congressional map for 2026](https://www.texastribune.org/2025/11/18/texas-redistricting-ruling-lawsuit-el-paso-court-2026-midterms/)** > > The decision is a major blow for Republicans, in Texas and nationally, who pushed through this unusual mid-decade redistricting at the behest of President Donald Trump. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2025, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-happening-with-gerrymandering-ahead-of-the-2026-election/1024103/10 "2025-11-18T21:06:33Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Also, gerrymandering can hurt as much as it can help. By making more districts light-red, it makes it more likely that they would flip purple or light-blue in a wave anti-GOP backlash election, thus handing the Democrats _more_ House seats. Also known as a “Dummymander” [Dummymander - Political Dictionary](https://politicaldictionary.com/words/dummymander/) ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2025, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-happening-with-gerrymandering-ahead-of-the-2026-election/1024103/11 "2025-11-19T04:43:43Z")
And I’m not sure if the California one is thus also cancelled. I personally think that it should go forward since even if California were to come to an agreement with the other states, they’d probably renege on it unless it came too late for them to re-implement gerrymandering, at which point it might also be too late for California to back out of it. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2025, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-happening-with-gerrymandering-ahead-of-the-2026-election/1024103/12 "2025-11-21T06:42:41Z")
Fuck fighting fair, the blue states need to gerrymander as hard as possible. The only way to make gerrymandering illegal on the federal level is when both parties benefit from it. As long as only the GOP benefits, the SCOTUS will always rule it is legal.