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Americans Worry Democracy In Danger Amid Gerrymandering Fights New

Leo Migdal
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americans worry democracy in danger amid gerrymandering fights new

WASHINGTON, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Most Americans believe that efforts to redraw U.S. House of Representatives districts to maximize partisan gains, like those under way in Texas and California, are bad for democracy, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll found. More than half of respondents -- 57% -- said they feared that American democracy itself was in danger, a view held by eight in 10 Democrats and four in 10 in President Donald Trump's... The six-day survey of 4,446 U.S. adults, which closed on Monday, showed deep unease with the growing political divisions in Washington -- where Republicans control both chambers of Congress -- and state capitals. The poll found that 55% of respondents, including 71% of Democrats and 46% of Republicans, agreed that ongoing redistricting plans- such as those hatched by governors in Texas and California in a process known...

At Trump's urging, Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott has called a special session of the state legislature to redraw the state’s congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, aiming to help Republicans defend... House majority. Did you know with an ad-lite subscription to NationalWorld, you get 70% fewer ads while viewing the news that matters to you. To many Europeans, the United States still carries the image of a nation where elections are free and fair, where the will of the people is the deciding force in politics. The reality is more complicated. In America, there is a centuries-old practice that lets politicians quietly tilt the playing field before a single vote is cast: gerrymandering.

Gerrymandering, named for Elbridge Gerry, originally written as “Gerry-mander,” first appeared on March 26, 1812, in the Boston Gazette — a reaction to the redrawing of Massachusetts state senate election districts while Gerry was... It is the manipulation of electoral district boundaries to benefit a party, an incumbent, or a political group. The tactic takes two main forms: packing voters of one persuasion into as few districts as possible, or cracking them into many districts so they can’t form a majority anywhere. Either way, the outcome is the same — elections that are decided in the drawing rooms of state legislatures rather than at the ballot box. This year, the issue has come to a head again, with high-profile fights in Texas and South Carolina, and a national political climate in which both major parties are willing to use the tactic... But what makes this moment different is former President Donald Trump’s open disregard for democratic norms and traditions.

His influence over Republican-controlled legislatures has encouraged breaking with long-standing practices if it means fewer Democrats in the House of Representatives. It is another symptom of a toxic trend in American politics — the centralization of power in national party leaders at the expense of local accountability. The genius behind the American system has always been its focus on localism. Former Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill famously said, “All politics is local.” That ethos is fading fast. The Trump political movement is putting a nail in that coffin, prioritizing national party advantage over community representation. The redistricting push in Texas is just the latest example of this dangerous shift.

When politicians redraw congressional district maps to favor their party, they may secure short-term victories. But those wins can come at a steep price — a loss of public faith in elections and, ultimately, in democracy itself. That’s the conclusion of a peer-reviewed study led by UC Riverside political scientist Shaun Bowler, published in Political Research Quarterly. The research finds that partisan gerrymandering — the manipulation of district boundaries to lock in political advantage — does more than distort representation in Congress. It undermines the belief that elections are fair, a cornerstone of democratic legitimacy. Bowler, a professor of political science, said survey data from tens of thousands of voters in the 2020 and 2022 elections show that Americans view gerrymandering with the same disdain they reserve for bribery...

The difference, he said, is that gerrymandering is carried out in full public view, cloaked in arguable legality. Consider the current push in Texas, where Republican legislators and Gov. Greg Abbott, encouraged by President Donald Trump, are working to redraw congressional districts to add five GOP seats as part a Republican effort to retain control of Congress after next year’s midterm election. “It’s out in the open,” Bowler said. “They’re saying, ‘We’re rigging the midterm election to produce an outcome.’” Even for voters whose party benefits, such victories can feel hollow. About three-quarters of Americans say democracy is under serious threat, according to a new poll from NPR, PBS News and Marist.

A similar number also see politically motivated violence as a major problem. Ahead of the Independence Day holiday and the country's 249th birthday, three-quarters of Americans say democracy is under serious threat. That's according to a new poll from NPR, PBS News and Marist. A similar number also see politically motivated violence as a major problem. MARTIN: NPR political editor and correspondent Domenico Montanaro is here to talk about these results, as well as the general atmosphere around politics in this country right now. Good morning, Domenico.

MARTIN: So let's start with this question about the state of democracy. What did the poll ask, and what stood out to you about the answers?

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