What brought us here? A tit-for-tat escalation of actions that we all agree are bad—and yet we’re doing it anyway.
It started in the Texas Legislature, which—after a show of resistance from state Democrats (who ran away so there wouldn’t be enough legislators to vote)—voted in August to redistrict its congressional districts mid-decade to add more Republican seats to the U.S. House so Trumpty Dumpty’s agenda could hang on like a bad hangover.
Outright gerrymandering. We’re cool with that?
Before Texas even voted, the California Legislature led by Gov. Gavin Newsom passed a response in the form of the Proposition 50 ballot measure. It would suspend the state’s independent redistricting commission until the end of the decade and replace the map created by the commission with a gerrymandered one favoring even more Democratic districts in the state—currently, of the state’s 52 representatives, 43 of them are Dems. If the special ballot measure passes on Nov. 4, expect to see at least 47 districts with Democrats at the helm.
So, we’re not cool with it, but it’s OK if we do it?
Now, Missouri has a new map, Utah has a new map, and Indiana just called a redistricting session. Kansas is trying to call one. Ohio is redrawing its maps, Louisiana wants to (but it hinges on a Supreme Court case), and Maryland, Florida, New York, and Illinois are getting nudged.
What is happening? The slippery slope argument disappeared, apparently, and we’re all continuing to slide down it into oblivion.
Assemblymember Gregg Hart (D-Santa Barbara) said we wouldn’t be in this position if states like Texas had an independent redistricting commission, like California.
“Ideally, we would have that system in place in all states in the country,” Hart said. “California has stood as a beacon of fairness and inclusion, and our independent commission is a valuable part of the political process. But when other states change the rules during the game, if we refuse to act, that’s not being neutral.”
Hmm, consider California a beacon no longer. So, we’ve got this great commission and we’ve got a fair system in place—and we’re hoping that state voters are going to throw it all out (“temporarily”) because Texas isn’t playing fair. But it’s not our fault. We have to play dirty, you see?
Cal Poly professor Michael Latner blames Congress for our conundrum.
“Congress should have long ago passed the laws that prohibit partisan gerrymandering,” he said. “We are the only democracy in the world that only seats two parties in its national legislature. It’s ridiculous, and it’s time that we move on past this arcane machinery that just incentivizes this sort of manipulation.”
It is ridiculous. Even independent and decline-to-state voters only have two options—and usually, no one likes either candidate because they both suck. And Congress can’t even finalize a budget, which is its main job, without shutting the federal government down.
And things are going to get worse—not better.
Deb from Lompoc said it all feels like a “bad movie.” Democrats aren’t any better than Republicans, and neither party is doing what they should.
“It’s all corrupt,” she said.
No kidding.
The Canary is ready for the 17-party system. Send new political party names to canary@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Oct 30 – Nov 6, 2025.