By JACKIE TAYLOR | May 13, 2026

Gerrymandering

I vaguely remember learning about gerrymandering when I was in high school Civics class; now, the issue is up front and center for all Americans as gerrymandering is being called out, used for advantage or used to disadvantage some.

What is gerrymandering? It is defined as “in the contexts of representative electoral systems, is the political manipulation of electoral district boundaries to advantage a party, group, or socioeconomic class within the constituency. The manipulation may involve “cracking” or “packing”. Gerrymandering can also be used to protect incumbents.”

It’s an interesting time we live in. The Bible speaks to light entering the darkness, and I feel that courts opening up voting districts in fair ways is such light.

I got a serious chuckle over the Virginia Supreme Court’s slap down of their legislature and governor’s attempt to take a 5-6 House seat, advantage Dems, to a 10-1 advantage – Dems. According to pundants who watch political goings-on, the judge that wrote the Virginia Supreme Court opinion, had nothing good to say about the state’s attempt to squelch the voices/votes of millions of people in the state.

Now, FoxNews.com reports, “Supreme Court Clears Way for Alabama to Adopt New House Map That Removes Majority-Black District.”

It is very unsettling that politicians categorize people by race, religion, etc. and try to explain those subdivisions as “helping” someone.

I, in my life, have never felt that someone was less intelligent because they were one color or another. Now, where they live and what education system a person is under has great tell on how someone is able to maneuver through this world.

There are stereotypes out there that state certain nationalities are smarter than others. I’ve seen videos on how brutal the Japanese system is on students – and it creates super-learners. On the contrary, other nations have lesser advanced education and students suffer the consequences. It does not mean that one race is smarter than another.

FoxNews.com reported, “The state had argued that the high court’s recent ruling on race and redistricting required it to adjust its electoral map.

“The U.S. Supreme Court late on May 11 cleared the way for Alabama to redraw its congressional election map to comply with the court’s landmark ruling limiting the use of race in redistricting.

“The court’s new decision took the form of a brief, unsigned order.

“The Supreme Court vacated lower court rulings that required Alabama to use a congressional map that included two majority-black districts out of the state’s seven districts.

“The justices waived the usual waiting period and ordered that the new ruling take effect immediately.

“Alabama and several other GOP-led states are currently in the process of an unusual mid-decade redistricting they hope will help Republicans retain control of the U.S. House of Representatives in the November elections.

“The high court ruled last month in Louisiana v. Callais that race may be only a minor factor in redistricting rationales, not the predominant, overriding reason for how congressional district lines are drawn.”

Very interesting, indeed. Things that needed straightened out, are getting straightened out – light is coming to the dark and this mid-term election is going to be a barn-burner.

I love when things are fair; if someone wins a fair race, so be it. It’s when someone cheats to win that it is infuriating. So let’s hope the election coming up, and others further in the future, are fair for everyone.

Thank you, President Donald Trump for bringing light to the darkness of gerrymandering.