Editor’s note: Third in a series on proposed reforms to build a better democracy in Chattanooga, in Tennessee and beyond.
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Democracy is a simple, yet elusive, concept: The people, in an expression of self-governance, choose leaders to form a government in the public’s best interest, or else face expulsion come next election. But this ideal has been distorted into its polar opposite — politicians, acting in their own self-interest, choose their voters to maintain their grip on power.
Gerrymandering is far from a new phenomenon. The anti-democratic practice, long a fundamental flaw of our political system, is rooted in the early decades of this nation’s history, as legislators have long been tasked with drawing the lines of their districts via the routine redistricting process.
But in 2026, the problem of gerrymandering has been elevated to unprecedented extremes. Today’s GOP, using modern mapping technology, has turned gerrymandering into a pinpoint science that can target reliable voters and dilute opposing communities with relative ease.