The fight over mid-decade redistricting is reaching a fever pitch. And Americans are feeling the heat.  

We’re collectively seeing, in real time, how redistricting is much more than lines on a map. It’s more than the last-minute special sessions and special elections that will dictate the balance of power in this country ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. The stakes are whether our democracy itself can withstand such unprecedented threats.  

Americans are bearing witness to the chaos and demanding more from their lawmakers. Overwhelmingly so, according to a new Common Cause poll. Across the board, voters want fairness, transparency, and accountability from their government.  

Specifically, 77% of American voters want redistricting reform so independent commissions draw maps, not politicians. Across Democrats, Republicans, and independents, voters don’t trust lawmakers to act in their best interest. The poll also found that 84% of voters say fair district lines are critical to the health of our democracy, with 60% rejecting mid-decade redistricting.  

And the kicker: 60% of 2024 Donald Trump voters want Congress to step in to stop mid-decade redistricting. 

The numbers speak for themselves. Nearly all Americans across party lines agree on the need for redistricting reform. Voters see this mid-decade fight for what it is: a power grab. People want their neighborhoods, their towns, their voices to matter, not a takeover by an aspiring authoritarian. 

This must serve as a wakeup call for Congress to act. 

At its core, redistricting is about whether families can get healthcare, whether workers’ voices matter, and whether communities can hold leaders accountable. For far too long, some politicians have been rigging the rules of the game, carving up communities, drawing maps in back rooms, and using their power to protect themselves, not the people they were elected to serve. Gerrymandering has robbed voters of their voices, and it has poisoned trust in our democracy. 

At Common Cause, we’ve been at the center of these battles for decades. We helped Californians create the Citizens Redistricting Commission, now a national model. We fought partisan gerrymandering all the way to the Supreme Court in Common Cause v. Rucho. And we helped draft provisions in the Freedom to Vote Act to ban gerrymandering nationwide. 

Today, we support the newly introduced Redistricting Reform Act of 2025 to restore faith in and help fix our broken system of representation. Our conviction is simple: voters must choose their politicians, never the other way around. Gerrymandering is just voter suppression by another name. It fractures communities and it rigs elections before a single ballot is cast.  

Recent weeks forced a new reality upon us, where voting rights proponents, from elected leaders to academics and advocates, had to act quickly. When President Donald Trump pressured Texas Republican leaders to draw him “five more seats,” it was not just map-drawing—it was part of a broader plan to cement authoritarian power. The Texas plan was designed to lock in advantage, silence dissent, and weaken the very people who would hold him accountable in the 2026 midterm elections. 

California’s response looked, at first glance, like more of the same. Governor Gavin Newsom and California Democratic leaders framed their actions in starkly partisan terms. As longtime advocates of California’s independent redistricting process, we were alarmed. 

The answer to this threat required hard conversations inside our movement. Our National Governing Board, informed by expert staff, adopted a rigorous set of fairness criteria to measure state actions. Texas failed every test. California met them. For us, this moment was not about abandoning principle—it was about applying principle with precision. Our values remain firm, but our strategy must meet today’s threats. 

Democracy is not abstract. It requires constant adaptation and evolution to meet the needs of the people and of this critical moment.  

That’s why Congress must take decisive action to pass the Redistricting Reform Act of 2025. They must pass it for the voter in Texas who has never seen her community fully represented. Pass it for the young people in Florida who tell us they’ve stopped believing their votes matter. Pass it for the millions of Americans who are demanding a democracy that is fair, honest, and accountable.  

This is more than partisan gamesmanship. This is about standing with the people to preserve our democracy. Congress has no other choice but to act.  

Virginia Kase Solomón is the President & CEO, and Darius Kemp is the California executive director of Common Cause.