Friday, March 13

THIS WEEK

Virginia redistricting battle is now up to the voters
Florida Republicans poised to begin April redistricting session
Missouri GOP is running out the clock on voters’ efforts to block gerrymander
Utah GOP passes 11th hour law to protect its pro-gerrymander ballot measure

VIRGINIA

Virginia redistricting battle is now up to the voters

Virginia Democrats have raced against the clock to bring a proposed constitutional amendment redrawing the state’s congressional map to the voters in time to counter President Donald Trump’s gerrymanders for the 2026 midterms.

Now, it’s up to Virginians to decide whether to allow state lawmakers to enact a “10-1” map that could net Democrats four additional seats in Congress.

Republicans have filed numerous legal challenges to the plan, but the Virginia Supreme Court is allowing the election to move forward before they rule on the legality of the plan.

Both sides are making their case to the voters, with Democrats welcoming former President Barack Obama’s endorsement of the plan and Republicans hoping that deceptive racist mailers will do the trick.

Early voting is currently underway and will run until April 18. The big day is April 21 — a.k.a special election day. And it will come just one day after…

FLORIDA

...Florida Republicans will begin April redistricting session

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has called a redistricting special session starting April 20 – and we’ve heard very little about what to expect when the GOP-controlled legislature convenes.

Fortunately, the RNC’s leading mapmaker, Adam Kincaid, sat down for a lengthy podcast interview with former Dancing With The Stars contestant Sean Spicer. Kincaid said he’s not directly involved with Florida redistricting himself, but these were his two predictions: the state will redraw the map for 2026, and it could give Republicans three to five more seats in the House.

Check out our members-only website and explore premium newsletters from Marc and the Democracy Docket team.

EXPLORE PREMIUM CONTENT

MISSOURI

Missouri GOP is running out the clock on voters’ efforts to block gerrymander

We’re now waiting for what will likely be the decisive ruling in Missouri’s redistricting battle (at least, as far as 2026 is concerned), when a state court decides whether the new GOP gerrymander has been paused until it is put to a statewide vote.

Let’s back up: When Missouri Republicans pushed a gerrymander into law at Trump’s behest last year, there was reason to believe Missourians would be able to stop them. The state constitution gives voters the power to block state legislation by holding a referendum veto election. So voters gathered and submitted hundreds of thousands of signatures to do just that. But Republicans have proven they’re willing to completely ignore Missourians’ referendum rights in their fight to deliver one more GOP congressional seat for Trump.

We’re likely nearing the end of the battle now, with Missouri’s candidate filing deadline coming up March 31.

UTAH

Utah GOP passes 11th hour law to protect its pro-gerrymander ballot measure

Republicans are still mad as hell that Utah courts won’t let them violate the state’s ban on partisan gerrymandering – so they’re determined to repeal it.

They’ve gathered enough signatures to put the repeal question to voters in November – but it’s not yet a done deal. Thousands of Utahns have been removing their signatures from the petition, many of them assisted by a pro-voting effort to send removal forms with prepaid postage to people who signed it.

But this week, in the final hours of the legislative session, Utah Republicans managed to prioritize a new law (effective immediately) invalidating signature removals submitted using prepaid postage.

NEW EPISODE

Trump demands Congress pass radical SAVE Act

Trump is threatening to bypass Congress entirely to impose voter ID before the 2026 midterms — and to make matters worse, the Save America Act just got a lot more extreme. Marc breaks down Trump's late-night social media rants, why his panic over Democratic victories is driving this voter suppression push, and why Trump is living in a constitutional delusion. Watch on YouTube here.

What we’re doing

One thing about the Democracy Docket team is we have no chill. In our free time, we take a break from the current horrors by reading about previous ones. Editor Matthew Kupfer, for example, is reading Christopher Isherwood’s 1939 novel Goodbye to Berlin and watching the Hitler documentary Evil on Trial. Meanwhile, editor Sally Holtgrieve recommends Erik Larson’s WW2 book In the Garden of Beasts. Reporter Jacob Knutson is unwinding by reading Faust, and reporter Jim Saksa is reading Jill Lepore’s We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution.