Congressional Redistricting Frenzy. Reshaping Government: Possibilities and Perils

Reshaping Government: Possibilities and Perils Congressional Redistricting Frenzy June 4, 2026 | 12:30 - 1:30 p.m. REGISTRATION LINK University of Pittsburgh | William Pitt Union | Lower Lounge In-person attendance is suggested. A virtual option is available when registering. Maps of new Congressional districts customarily have been re-drawn only once every ten years. That redistricting work was tied to the release of decennial census data and driven by the need to respond to population shifts, consistent with the constitutional requirement that citizens have equally weighted votes. These longstanding patterns were shattered in the current election cycle when the Texas legislature, acting on a request from President Trump, redrew that state’s Congressional districts to help the Republican party secure additional seats in a closely-divided House of Representatives. To offset those gains, California voters approved a revised map intended to advantage the Democratic party. Several other states now also have become involved in mid-decade redistricting. The pace of this activity accelerated with the U.S. Supreme Court’s end-of-April decision in Louisiana vs. Callais – which, to many observers, gutted Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and invited states to engage in partisan gerrymandering. Even more recently, interest intensified when the Virginia Supreme Court struck down a map that had been approved by that state’s voters and would have advantaged the Democratic party. More than sixty years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court stated, “No right is more precious in a free country than that of having a voice in the election of those who make the laws under which, as good citizens, we must live. Other rights, even the most basic, are illusory if the right to vote is undermined.” Has the right to vote been damaged by these recent developments and are the gerrymandering wars here to stay, as some have predicted? These and related issues will be examined in