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Now at Bluesky: https://t.co/Cl68tNXXlE Contributor at @downballotnews. Democracy issues, voting rights, redistricting, maps, & poli sci.

Nov 5, 2020, 11 tweets

NEW: The 2020 elections were a disaster for a decade of redistricting, further securing GOP minority rule.

GOP is tentatively on track to draw 4-5 times as many congressional districts as Dems, while SCOTUS threatens to remove checks on GOP legislatures dailykos.com/story/2020/11/…

After 2010, the GOP drew 5 times as many congressional districts as Dems, a majority vs. Dems' 10%.

2020 is poised to be similar with the GOP drawing 4-5 out of 10 districts nationally. GOP gerrymandering WITHIN states may also become even more extreme than 2010 thanks to SCOTUS

If Dems don't pull off upsets in the expected Jan. 5 runoffs for both GA Senate seats, GOP will control Senate, blocking House Dems from banning congressional gerrymandering nationally with #HR1 & taking the threat of SCOTUS expansion off the table.

SCOTUS may soon be let loose

Dems need to pour their energy into winning both Georgia Senate runoffs on Jan. 5.

This will be tough, however, & we need contingencies for a GOP Senate blocking all progress.

Dems should start organizing mass protests against 2020s GOP gerrymandering power grabs unlike in 2011

If Dems are unable to counteract this disparity, 2022 could see GOP entrench minority rule in the House & several state legislatures. The GOP is positioned to oust at least several currently safe House Dems via gerrymandering regardless of whether there's a Biden midterm backlash

We'll keep this post on the 2020s redistricting partisan landscape updated as we get calls to decide legislative chambers in AZ (both), MN Senate, & PA (both), where GOP currently leads. Much depends on future Supreme Court cases, which we'll detail in-depth in a follow-up story

NEW: GOP gerrymandering within states could get turbocharged after 2020. With GOP likely to hold the Senate, the Supreme Court may soon be let loose & remove 3 key checks on GOP gerrymanders, while the extent of Trump's damage to the census remains unknown dailykos.com/story/2020/11/…

SCOTUS could make GOP gerrymandering more potent by removing the power of state courts, independent commissions, & even governors to block GOP legislatures from gerrymandering. It may crush the Voting Rights Act & may let GOP deny representation to people of color who can't vote

So much depends on Georgia's Jan. 5 runoffs, which will determine control of the Senate. Biden with a Dem Senate could ban congressional gerrymandering, reinvigorate the Voting Rights Act, & constrain the Supreme Court's radicalism. But things get hard if the GOP holds the Senate

U.S. democracy faces a dire risk of GOP minority rule becoming self-entrenching. If Dems don't flip Senate in January, they may not get another chance for years to come.

But nations like Chile show how determined majorities can overcome minority rule via sustained mass protests

Things may seem depressing right now, & it's key to practice self-care.

But I write this thread not to make you give up hope for political change but to show what the problem is & how we can fight it.

Republicans can only keep thwarting majority rule in America if we let them

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