The Hashtag
#Gerrymandering gained urgency as Supreme Court cases challenged extreme partisan map-drawing, while 2020 census stakes determined a decade of representation.
Origins
Gerrymandering—manipulating district boundaries for partisan advantage—became crisis-level after 2010. Republicans won state legislatures in a census year, then drew brutal maps giving them durable majorities even when losing the popular vote.
Two 2019 Supreme Court cases crystallized the issue:
- Rucho v. Common Cause (North Carolina): SCOTUS ruled 5-4 that partisan gerrymandering is legal, not justiciable by federal courts
- Lamone v. Benisek (Maryland): Same ruling applied to Democratic gerrymandering
The Court essentially said: “This is bad, but it’s not our problem to fix.”
Cultural Impact
Extreme examples:
- Wisconsin: Republicans won 64% of seats with 48% of votes (2018)
- North Carolina: Congressional map struck down as unconstitutional racial gerrymandering
- Maryland’s 3rd District: “The broken-wing pterodactyl” shape
- Pennsylvania: State Supreme Court threw out map as violating state constitution
The hashtag represented:
- Voters don’t choose representatives; representatives choose voters
- Minority rule through map manipulation
- Racial gerrymandering targeting Black voters
- Independent redistricting commissions as solution
- The 2020 census stakes: new maps drawn for 2022-2030
Reform efforts succeeded in some states:
- Michigan voters passed independent commission (2018)
- Virginia created bipartisan commission (2020)
- Courts struck down extreme maps in Pennsylvania, North Carolina
The hashtag embodied frustration with a fundamentally undemocratic practice that SCOTUS refused to police.