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Fact check: Did a bill ever go to a vote before the full house to stop partisain gerrymandering?
1. Summary of the results
Based on the analyses provided, no clear evidence exists of a bill specifically designed to stop partisan gerrymandering going to a vote before the full House. The sources reveal a complex landscape of redistricting activities, but none explicitly confirm a comprehensive anti-gerrymandering bill reaching a full House vote.
The analyses do reveal several relevant legislative activities:
- California's Assembly passed a constitutional amendment authorizing redistricting maps by a 57-20 vote, with the Senate passing three related measures along party lines [1]
- California Democrats approved a package of bills to establish a November special election for voters to consider new congressional maps, specifically designed to counter Texas gerrymandering [1]
- The Fair Representation Act was reintroduced in the House, which aims to address partisan gerrymandering issues, though no vote is mentioned [2] [3] [4]
2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints
The original question lacks crucial context about the current redistricting arms race happening across multiple states. The analyses reveal that:
- Texas Republicans are actively redistricting to help their party in the 2026 midterm elections, prompted by President Trump's requests [5] [6]
- California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a plan for new voting maps that could give Democrats five additional House seats [5]
- Multiple states beyond Texas and California are engaged in redistricting efforts that could impact the balance of power in the House [7] [6]
Alternative approaches to addressing gerrymandering are also missing from the original question:
- California Republicans introduced a resolution calling for a constitutional amendment requiring nonpartisan redistricting commissions [8]
- The Fair Representation Act proposes comprehensive reforms including ranked choice voting and multi-member districts, which would fundamentally transform how congressional elections work [3] [4]
Key beneficiaries of different approaches include:
- Democratic leadership benefits from California's counter-gerrymandering efforts against Texas
- Republican leadership benefits from Texas redistricting efforts
- Reform organizations like FairVote benefit from promoting comprehensive electoral reforms like the Fair Representation Act
3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement
The original question contains implicit assumptions that may not reflect the current political reality:
- It assumes there was a single, comprehensive anti-gerrymandering bill that went to a House vote, when the evidence suggests redistricting battles are happening at the state level with tit-for-tat responses between parties [1] [5]
- The question frames gerrymandering as something that could be stopped by federal legislation, while the current reality shows state-level redistricting wars where each party uses gerrymandering as a weapon against the other [7] [5] [6]
- It doesn't acknowledge that both major parties engage in gerrymandering when it benefits them, as evidenced by California's explicit counter-gerrymandering against Texas [1]
The question also oversimplifies the legislative landscape by not recognizing that comprehensive reforms like the Fair Representation Act exist but face significant political obstacles, and that most anti-gerrymandering efforts are currently happening through state-level initiatives and court challenges rather than federal legislation [2] [3] [4].