United States of America - August 2025

On 29 August, the Governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, signed a new gerrymandered map of the state’s U.S. House of Representatives districts into law. Responding to a demand from President Donald Trump, the redistricting openly aims to create more U.S. House districts dominated by Republican voters and is expected to result in a gain of five House seats for the Republicans. In response, California lawmakers passed bills that would improve the Democratic Party’s performance by five seats in the U.S. House; these will be voted on by Californians in November. In September, a Republican-majority legislature in Missouri followed suit, as governors of heavily Democratic and Republican states further announcing similar measures. Critics have noted that gerrymandering dilutes the power of individual voters, both by packing voters of colour into fewer districts and reducing the competitiveness of some districts.   

Update: On 5 December, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a lower court ruling that voided Texas’s new congressional map, rejecting the argument that it constituted illegal racial gerrymandering.

Update: On 4 February, the Supreme Court allowed California’s new congressional map favouring Democrats to be used in the 2026 midterm elections. The new districts had been challenged by Republicans as unconstitutional after California voters had backed the measure in November.

Sources: BBC, New York Times, NPR, CNN, The Guardian (1), The Guardian (2), Politico, Associated Press, CBS