Democratic congressional candidate, attorney, and U.S. Coast Guard veteran Mac Deford today announced his commitment to propose federal legislation banning partisan gerrymandering in congressional redistricting by 2030, before the next full round of congressional mapmaking following the 2030 Census.
Deford’s announcement follows today’s Supreme Court decision in Louisiana v. Callais, a ruling he said he strongly disagrees with and believes "further highlights the urgent need for Congress to protect voting rights, fair representation, and the basic principle that voters should choose their representatives, not the other way around."
“The Voting Rights Act protects against discriminatory maps. A federal ban on partisan gerrymandering would address another abuse: politicians drawing districts to protect themselves instead of representing the people,” Deford said. “Congress must do both. We must protect the full promise of the Voting Rights Act, and we must stop politicians from rigging maps for partisan advantage.”
Deford said partisan gerrymandering is "wreaking havoc on American democracy by allowing politicians to carve up communities, dilute the power of voters, and insulate themselves from accountability."
“That is not representative government,” Deford said. “That is politicians choosing their voters instead of voters choosing their representatives.”
Deford said his legislation would "establish clear federal standards for congressional redistricting, prohibit intentional partisan gerrymandering, require transparency and public input, strengthen protections against racial vote dilution, and create enforceable remedies for voters challenging maps designed to entrench one party in power."
“No party should be allowed to draw congressional districts for the purpose of protecting itself,” Deford said. “Not Democrats. Not Republicans. Not anyone. By 2030, Congress should ban partisan gerrymandering at the federal level and require fair, transparent, and enforceable standards for congressional maps.”
While Deford criticized the Supreme Court’s ruling, he said the larger crisis is not confined to one case, one court, or one state.
“This ruling is wrong, but the larger crisis is bigger than this one decision,” Deford said. “When districts are rigged, politicians stop worrying about the general public and start worrying only about the most extreme voices in their own party. That makes Congress more chaotic, more corrupt, and less capable of solving the real problems facing families and individuals, from the cost of living to health care to infrastructure to protecting our coast.”
Deford said fair maps are essential to restoring Congress as a functioning, accountable, and coequal branch of government.
“The Constitution begins with ‘We the People,’ not ‘We the politicians,’” Deford said. “If Congress is going to be a coequal branch of government again, it must be elected through maps that reflect real communities, not maps drawn in back rooms to protect incumbents and political machines.”