On this edition of Your Call's Authoritarian Playbook series, we discuss Donald Trump's attacks on free and fair elections and his unprecedented demand for Texas to gerrymander five new Republican-leaning Congressional districts. The NAACP has filed a lawsuit in Texas, saying the new electoral map strips Black voters of their political power.
In response, Californians overwhelmingly voted for Prop 50, which Governor Gavin Newsom put on the ballot to give Democrats five seats currently held by Republicans.
Democrats in the House and Senate have introduced legislation to ban gerrymandering across the country.
How far will Trump and the GOP go to maintain Republican control of Congress? What is the future for free and fair elections?
Guests:
Ezra Levin, co-founder and co-executive director of Indivisible, and co-author of We Are Indivisible: A Blueprint for Democracy After Trump
Cliff Albright, co-founder and executive director of Black Voters Matter and the Black Voters Matter Capacity Building Institute
John Cusick, assistant counsel at the Legal Defense Fund, and member of the litigation team in Sixth District of The African Methodist Episcopal Church v. Kemp, a federal lawsuit challenging provisions of an omnibus voter-suppression law (Senate Bill 202) adopted by the Georgia legislature following the historic participation of Black voters in the 2020 general and 2021 runoff elections
Resources:
CalMatters: California voters approve Prop. 50, redrawing congressional maps to favor Democrats
San Francisco Chronicle: These are the 5 California Republicans at risk of losing their seats under Prop 50
San Francisco Chronicle: California Republicans sue to block Prop 50
Brennan Center for Justice: Timeline of the Trump Administration’s Efforts to Undermine Elections
The New York Times: Trump Empowers Election Deniers, Still Fixated on 2020 Grievances
CNN: Former GOP election official buys Dominion Voting Systems, says he’ll push for paper ballots
Democracy Docket: ‘We Could Not Have Clearer Facts’: Minority Advocates Say Racial Motive Is Evident As Texas Redistricting Hearing Wraps Up
The Guardian: ‘Latinos deserve a district’: alarm as new Texas maps dilute voting power in Austin
NDRC: Proposed Texas Gerrymander Reduces Latino and Black Opportunity Districts
