Democracy in the States: Weekly Roundup
Updates on campaigns, policy changes, obstacles and successes for democracy renovation at the state level.
MISSOURI: Redistricting Proposal Meets Public Pushback at First Hearing | By David A. Lieb, AP News, Sept 5, 2025
Residents denounced a proposal aimed at splitting Kansas City to engineer a 7–1 GOP advantage, though the House committee advanced the plan to a floor debate next week.MASSACHUSETTS: AG Clears 44 Petitions, Including Election Reforms, for Next Step | By Nik DeCosta-Klipa, WBUR, Sept 4, 2025
Attorney General Andrea Campbell certified dozens of 2026 ballot proposals, moving measures on same-day voter registration, open primaries, and government transparency to the signature-gathering stage.CALIFORNIA: Key Groups Soften Stance on Newsom’s Redistricting Plan | By Sophia Bollag, San Francisco Chronicle, Sept 4, 2025
Common Cause and the League of Women Voters of California shifted positions as the governor’s mid-cycle remap heads to a Nov. 4 special election, reflecting consolidating support.MICHIGAN: RCV Backers Outline Path to 2026 Ballot Despite House Ban | By Sam Corey, WDET, Sept 4, 2025
Rank MI Vote leaders detailed their strategy to qualify a statewide ranked-choice voting initiative for 2026, saying voter approval would override the GOP-backed House ban.TEXAS: Texas Redistricting 2025 — Find Your New District | By Carla Astudillo, The Texas Tribune, Sept 4, 2025
A data-rich explainer with interactive tools to compare maps, voting trends, demographics, and district changes.MISSOURI: House Committee Votes to Make It Harder to Pass Some Ballot Issues | By Rachel Lippmann, St. Louis Public Radio, Sept 4, 2025
A House committee advanced a measure requiring citizen-initiated amendments to win majorities in each congressional district. This comes during a special session the governor called this week to redraw congressional maps.UTAH: Judge Decides Congressional Maps Must Be Redrawn | By Mead Gruver, The Associated Press, Sept 3, 2025
A Utah judge ruled that the state’s current congressional maps are unconstitutional and must be redrawn immediately for the 2026 election. Lawmakers must submit a new map following a strict timeline, rejecting delays and upholding voter-approved anti-gerrymandering reforms.MASSACHUSETTS: Advocates Revive Push for Same-Day Voter Registration, Other Election Reforms | By Saraya Wintersmith, GBH News, Sept 3, 2025
At a Boston City Hall rally, reform groups urged lawmakers to pass three bills: same-day registration, decoupling voter rolls from the municipal census, and periodic polling-place accessibility checks. Secretary Galvin recently voiced support for SDR.PENNSYLVANIA: Pennsylvania Won’t Join the Mid-Decade Redistricting Rush | By Kate Huangpu, Spotlight PA, Sept 2, 2025
Gov. Josh Shapiro rejected mid-decade redistricting: “We’re not doing that here in Pennsylvania.” With a divided government, any change would require both parties to want it and agree on how to do it.OHIO: Once Again, Lawmakers Invite Citizens to Submit Maps Before Redistricting Begins | By Jo Ingles, The Statehouse News Bureau, Sept 2, 2025
Ohio lawmakers again asked residents to submit congressional map ideas before a new redraw, reviving a public-participation process used in prior cycles. The most recent redistricting in 2022 lacked bipartisan support and, therefore, those maps will expire in 2026 under state law.MASSACHUSETTS: The Legislature is failing. Two key reforms could help restore its effectiveness | By Jeanne M. Kempthorne and Jennifer Nassour, The Boston Globe, Sept 1, 2025
An op-ed urges lawmakers to revive a nonpartisan legislative research bureau and create an independent fiscal analysis office to strengthen policymaking and accountability.NATIONAL: The Future of Voting Rights | By Erwin Chemerinsky, SCOTUSblog, Aug 27, 2025
Chemerinsky explains how Louisiana v. Callais and related cases could weaken Section 2’s disparate-impact standard and limit private enforcement, reshaping voting-rights law this term.Want more background on today’s big issues? Here are a few places to look.
NATIONAL: Gerrymandering Explained | By Joanna Kenty, The Renovator, Sept 1, 2025
Our Democracy 101 explainer on all things gerrymandering, including infographics, an analogy, the origin of the weird name, and plenty of links to explore.
NATIONAL: Improving Redistricting with Proportional Representation | By Will Mantell and Rachel Hutchinson, FairVote, Sept 4, 2025
Background on how proportional representation can reduce gerrymandering incentives and produce fairer outcomes.NATIONAL: Where States Stand in the Battle for Partisan Advantage in U.S. House Redistricting Maps | U.S. News & World Report, Sept 4, 2025
A state-by-state recap of mid-cycle congressional redistricting by both parties ahead of 2026, showing where maps are changing and why control of the U.S. House is at stake.NATIONAL: U.S. Democratic Backsliding in Comparative Perspective | By McKenzie Carrier and Thomas Carothers, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Aug 25, 2025
A comparative paper argues the U.S. is following a pattern of executive aggrandizement that undercuts checks and balances, echoing trends seen in other democracies.UTAH: Proposition 4 (2018) | Ballotpedia
The 2018 voter initiative that created an independent advisory redistricting commission and set the mapping standards, triggering this year’s court-ordered redraw.
OHIO: Issue 1 (2018) Congressional Redistricting | Ballotpedia
This legislatively-referred, voter-approved 2018 constitutional amendment, aimed at preventing partisan gerrymandering, is forcing political mapmakers back to the table.NATIONAL: Redistricting Party Control 2025 Tracker | American Redistricting Project
A rolling reference on which parties control governorships and legislatures—critical context for understanding who steers map-drawing.NATIONAL: State by State Redistricting Criteria | National Conference of State Legislatures
Primer on common redistricting criteria across states (e.g., equal population, VRA compliance, contiguity, compactness, communities of interest).LOUISIANA: Docket — Louisiana v. Callais (No. 24-109) | U.S. Supreme Court
Official docket page tracking filings and deadlines in the Louisiana redistricting case that could further reshape the Voting Rights Act.In case you missed it …
“A Three-Part Agenda To Fight The Wildfire, Part 1,” By Danielle Allen, The Renovator, Sept 2, 2025
“Gerrymandering Explained,” By Joanna Kenty, The Renovator, Sept 1, 2025
“Tech & Democracy Weekly Roundup,” By Aidan Fitzsimons & the Getting-PLURALITY Network, The Renovator, Sept 4, 2025