Larson Introduces Election Reform Bill to End Partisan Redistricting Gamesmanship with Texas, California, and North Carolina Democratic Leaders

Washington, D.C. - Today, as the Trump White House continues to pressure Republican-led states to pass new Congressional maps diluting the voices of Black and Hispanic voters, Rep. John B. Larson (CT-01) introduced the Redistricting Reform Actwith SenatorAlex Padilla (D-CA) and House Democratic leaders from Texas, California, and North Carolina. Their bill would ban these mid-decade redistricting efforts and require states to establish independent redistricting commissions.

As the former leading Democrat on the Committee on House Administration, Larson was appointed by then-Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi to chair the Task Force on Election Reform - where he worked to craft a comprehensive bill to take big money out of politics and protect the right to vote for all Americans, which passed the House in 2019, 2021,and 2022, but was filibustered by Senate Republicans.

"The democratic process can only work when everyone has the freedom to cast their ballot safely and securely," said Larson. "Republican mid-decade redistricting efforts are diluting the voices of Black and Hispanic voters for partisan gain in a growing number of states. I commend the legislators in Texas and Missouri who used every tool in their toolbox to try to stop these racial gerrymanders and applaud efforts by Democrats in California to fight fire with fire. But this gamesmanship must end. I am proud to join my colleagues in this effort to fairly reform the redistricting process so every vote counts, no matter your state or zip code. As our late friend John Lewis would say, now is the time for some good trouble. We must preserve our democracy."

"MAGA Republicans are afraid to run on their unpopular record of cutting health care and escalating tariff wars raising prices for consumers, so they're redrawing Congressional maps to hand Donald Trump the congressional seats he says he's 'entitled' to," said Padilla. "In response, California has no choice but to gear up for a fight. But there is a better way forward. By banning mid-decade gerrymanders and establishing fair criteria so districts are drawn to best represent communities, our bill is a commonsense, nonpartisan solution to Donald Trump's power grab."

"The unprecedented and unpopular mid-decade power grabs in Texas and Missouri at the direction of Donald Trump underscore that the current system - a system protected by too many Republicans - does not work," said former United States Attorney General Eric Holder. "An overwhelming majority of Americans oppose partisan gerrymandering because it leaves all citizens worse off by sowing extreme division, undermining equal representation, and boosting the influence of powerful special interests. We must pursue a bold, new vision for our country by building a system that gives power back to the people instead of compromised politicians. The Redistricting Reform Actis a crucial step toward achieving that vision and putting our nation back on the path toward true democracy, where every state is required to have independent commissions draw the maps instead of power-hungry politicians and every state is held to the same standards to achieve fair maps. Any Republicans who demonstrate concern about the threat of gerrymandering should work with their Democratic colleagues to pass this bill right now to put a stop to both Donald Trump's gerrymandering scheme and unfair redistricting wherever it exists."

Amid pressure from President Trump and his MAGA allies, Republican-led states are engaging in an unprecedented mid-decade redistricting power grab. Republicans in Texas and Missouri have already enacted racial gerrymanders that dilute the voices of Black and Hispanic voters, as a number of states get ready to follow their lead, including Indiana and Florida. Democrats in California are advancing their own redistricting plan in response to these racial gerrymanders, that will be decided by California voters this November. Every Democratic member of the California Congressional delegation has endorsed the Redistricting Reform Act.

The Redistricting Reform Act:

• Prohibits states from redrawing Congressional maps until after the next Census, unless required to do so by a court

• Requires states to establish independent redistricting commissions, evenly divided among three political affiliations and representative of each state's demographic makeup, to draw and enact Congressional maps

Full bill text is available HERE.

A one-pager on the Redistricting Reform Actis available HERE.

"President Trump has unleashed a redistricting war across the country, calling up Republican-controlled states and demanding that they rig their maps. Why? Because he's an unpopular President who has stripped healthcare from millions, and he knows that rigging the redistricting process is the only way his party doesn't lose the House in 2026," said Rep. Zoe Lofgren (CA-18). "When Democrats held the House, we passed independent redistricting in H.R. 1, but Senate Republicans killed it. It can't be just one side that agrees to stop gerrymandering; it needs to be both. I welcome the support of my Republican colleagues from California, since so many have recently expressed their support for a nonpartisan redistricting process."

"In my home state of North Carolina, Republicans silenced voters' voices by enacting egregiously gerrymandered maps, effectively ensuring that Republicans would win the House in 2024," said Rep. Deborah Ross (NC-02). "North Carolina voters have been subjected to years of Republican redistricting and treated as political pawns. That's why I'm proud to introduce the Redistricting Reform Act. It's time to end extreme Republican attempts to seize power through gerrymandering - from North Carolina to Texas to Missouri."

"Republicans are failing. Their policies are unpopular. Instead of trying to win on the issues, they are attempting to rig the outcome of the election and silencing Brown and Black voices. Texas was the beginning of their scheme, and we won't stand by as it happens across the country. We will fight fire with fire as well as push for fair, constitutional, and fair redistricting. The Reform Act will make sure redistricting cannot be used as a political weapon by wannabe dictators," said Rep. Marc Veasey (TX-33).

"Right now, we are watching Republican-controlled states - Texas, North Carolina, Missouri - redraw maps to entrench their power and undermine the will of the voters," said Rep. Julia Brownley (CA-26). "The Redistricting Reform Actgives every Member of Congress the opportunity to stop this madness. It gives them a chance to prove they care about fairness and accountability more than Donald Trump's whims. Independent, citizen-led redistricting puts communities back together. It makes our elections more fair, and it gives voters the ability to hold their elected representatives more accountable to them. Today, my Republican colleagues have a choice: to join us in ending partisan gerrymandering once and for all, or be remembered for undermining the very foundation of our democracy."

"Our polling shows more than two-thirds of Americans know it's bad for our country when a single political party controls how voting districts are drawn," said Virginia Kase Solomón, President & CEO of Common Cause. "But that hasn't stopped Donald Trump, whose own voters reject the White House's mid-decade redistricting power grab. Common Cause proudly supports the Redistricting Reform Act of 2025, legislation that responds to Republican, Democrat, and Independent voters' demands for Congress to protect fair representation for all."