Fact check: What are the most notable instances of gerrymandering in the 2020 Redistricting cycle?

1. Summary of the results

The 2020 redistricting cycle produced several notable instances of gerrymandering across multiple states, with both Republican and Democratic parties engaging in partisan map-drawing to secure electoral advantages.

Most Significant Republican Gerrymandering:

• Texas emerged as a primary example, where Republicans engineered maps that could net them an additional five seats ^[1]
• Florida served as another anchor for GOP advantage in the South ^[1]
• North Carolina saw dramatic changes when a new conservative majority on the state supreme court dismantled anti-gerrymandering protections, allowing GOP lawmakers to redraw maps to their advantage ^[1]
• Ohio was identified as having easier opportunities for Republican gerrymanders ^[2]

Other Notable Cases:

• Utah, Illinois, Tennessee were specifically mentioned as examples of gerrymandered districts using cracking and packing techniques ^[3]
• Louisiana became the center of a major Supreme Court case regarding the creation of a second majority-Black congressional district and its constitutional implications ^{[4] [5]}

Legal Landscape:

The redistricting process was significantly shaped by the Supreme Court's 2019 ruling in Rucho v. Common Cause, which determined that gerrymandering for party advantage cannot be challenged in federal court ^{[6] [7]}. This decision enabled partisan map-drawers to operate with fewer constraints.

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

The original question lacks several important contextual elements:

Institutional Advantages:

• Single-party control of the redistricting process remains the norm in much of the country, allowing partisan map drawers to engineer outsize advantages for the controlling party ^[1]
• Republicans appear to have easier opportunities for drawing new gerrymanders than Democrats, particularly due to their control in key states ^[2]

Democratic Responses:

• New York Governor Kathy Hochul hinted at tit-for-tat responses to Republican redistricting efforts, suggesting potential mid-decade redistricting ^[8]
• Democrats face more obstacles in states they control, such as California, where constitutional amendments would be required to empower the state legislature to redraw maps ^[2]

Racial Gerrymandering Dimension:

• The most significant costs of gerrymandering are borne by communities of color ^[6]
• The Louisiana case highlights the complex balance between the Voting Rights Act and the 14th Amendment in redistricting decisions ^{[4] [5]}

Litigation Landscape:

• The 2020 cycle saw extensive redistricting litigation with numerous lawsuits challenging maps across multiple states ^[9]

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original question itself does not contain misinformation, as it simply asks for factual information about gerrymandering instances. However, there are potential areas where incomplete information could lead to biased understanding:

Geographic Bias:

• The question doesn't acknowledge that the large and fast-growing South has been especially prone to abuse during this redistricting cycle ^[1]
• This could lead to an incomplete understanding of where gerrymandering is most concentrated

Partisan Balance:

• Without context about the Supreme Court's 2019 ruling that enabled more aggressive partisan gerrymandering ^{[6] [7]}, readers might not understand why the 2020 cycle was particularly problematic
• The question doesn't address that both parties engage in gerrymandering, though Republicans had structural advantages in this cycle ^[2]

Impact Minimization:

• Focusing only on "notable instances" might minimize the systematic nature of gerrymandering's impact on democracy and communities of color ^[6]
• The question doesn't capture that gerrymandering affects all Americans but disproportionately harms certain communities ^[6]