| Every 10 years, in the aftermath of the census, states redraw their legislative lines. Every 10 years, many of them engage in gerrymandering, drawing districts designed to maximize partisan advantage. The practice is as venerable as it is pernicious, except that modern, computer-assisted, data-driven gerrymandering can execute the unfairness with ever more precision. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has declared that federal courts won't referee cases of partisan gerrymandering — stepping in only, and gingerly, when the line-drawing is racially motivated. Words can describe the situation, but pictures of the districts, contorted into the oddest of shapes for partisan purposes, convey the reality even more forcefully. So, the Editorial Board departed from its usual format to offer a dramatic visual depiction of gerrymandering in action. North Carolina, where Republicans are in charge, crammed some Democratic voters into compact blue districts — or spread them out among Republican ones. The upshot? In a state that then-President Donald Trump won by a single percentage point over Joe Biden, Republicans will likely have 10 House seats to Democrats' three. Both parties do it. In Illinois, with Democrats in control, Republicans end up with three of 17 seats — even though they won 41 percent of the vote in 2020. You get the point — but click on the editorial and you can see the point, plus read about solutions.  (Sergio Peçanha/The Washington Post) Maps in North Carolina, Illinois, Texas and Alabama show the worst gerrymandering sins. They can be fixed. By the Editorial Board ● Read more » | | | | The proposed map is not only unfair, but also blatantly violates New York's constitution. By Henry Olsen ● Read more » | | | | It's right there, in the textbook formerly used in Virginia schools. By Dana Milbank ● Read more » | | | | Never mind Joe Rogan. Whatever happened to Both Sides Now? By Kathleen Parker ● Read more » | | | Democrats' commitment to diversity is a ruse. By Marc A. Thiessen ● Read more » | | | | Democrats' public pressure on Justice Breyer to retire undercut the message he wanted to emphasize as he left. By Charles Lane ● Read more » | | | | By all means, consider candidates who didn't go to Harvard or Yale. But that may not increase diversity of thought. By Paul Waldman ● Read more » | | | | Packer's article, in the Atlantic, portrays a willful betrayal of our Afghan allies. By David Von Drehle ● Read more » | | | This constitutional provision applies to insurrectionists who previously swore an oath to defend the law. By Cliff Sloan and Brendan Gants ● Read more » | | | | Putin may have hoped to exploit what he saw as Biden's political weakness, but Biden's difficulties instead seemed to stiffen his backbone. By David Ignatius ● Read more » | | | | Republican extremists can be found in places such as Michigan, while Democrats in the same states tread carefully. By Paul Waldman ● Read more » | | | | The Florida governor knows the MAGA base. By Jennifer Rubin ● Read more » | | | |
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