Indiana Republicans didn’t just blow off President Trump this week. In a 31–19 vote rejecting a mid-cycle redistricting plan, the state Senate embarrassed him. For once, a Republican-controlled legislature refused to bend to Trump’s demand for gerrymandering that would have tilted the 2026 congressional map further in the GOP’s favor. It was a rare rebuke, and a reminder that even within the Republican Party, there are limits to how far manipulation of elections can go.
| “Every effort to suppress the vote is an effort to silence democracy itself.” |
But let’s be clear: this vote is the exception, not the rule. Across the country, the Republican Party has made restricting free and fair elections a central strategy.
The Promise of Democracy and Its Betrayal
Democracies are supposed to exemplify free and fair elections. They are meant to be competitive, transparent, inclusive, and free from coercion. Leaders are chosen by the people, not by the manipulation of maps or the suppression of votes.
Here in the United States, it took us until 1965, nearly two centuries after the nation’s founding, to finally fulfill the promise of free and fair elections. The Voting Rights Act outlawed literacy tests and other discriminatory practices, enforcing protections for minority voters. It was a landmark achievement, but our history is littered with efforts to limit participation, and those efforts have continued unabated since 1965.
The Long Arc of Restriction
Since 1965, the tactics of suppression have evolved. They include:
- Weakening the Voting Rights Act through Supreme Court rulings.
- Imposing strict voter ID laws.
- Limiting early voting and mail-in ballots.
- Closing polling places in minority communities.
- Gerrymandering districts to dilute voting power.
The Shelby County v. Holder decision in 2013 was a turning point. By gutting federal oversight of state election laws, the Supreme Court opened the floodgates. Republican-controlled legislatures in Texas, Georgia, Florida, and North Carolina rushed to impose restrictions. In North Carolina, a 2013 law was struck down after courts found it targeted African American voters “with almost surgical precision.”
At the national level, congressional Republicans have advanced proposals to expand state authority to purge voter rolls, raising concerns about eligible voters being removed in error. Meanwhile, the Court’s conservative majority has continued to narrow protections, most recently in Brnovich v. DNC.
| “A democracy is not a democracy when one party actively restricts voter participation.” |
Taken together, these efforts reflect a partisan strategy: while Democratic-led states have generally expanded access through reforms like automatic registration and mail-in voting, Republican-led states have pursued measures that disproportionately burden minority, young, and low-income voters, groups more likely to support Democrats.
Gerrymandering: The Modern Weapon
Heading into 2026, the Republican Party has successfully leveraged gerrymandering to tilt several congressional maps in its favor. Trump himself has pressed state legislatures to redraw boundaries mid-cycle, ensuring GOP dominance regardless of voter sentiment.
Indiana’s rejection of Trump’s demand is therefore remarkable. It shows that even within the Republican Party, there are lawmakers unwilling to sacrifice democratic legitimacy entirely for partisan gain. Yet in Texas, Missouri, and other states, gerrymandering continues unchecked, threatening to lock in one-party rule.
The Stakes for Democracy
In a democracy, the goal should be to encourage and facilitate citizen participation in shaping local, state, and national priorities. That is the essence of self-government. But the Republican Party’s strategy has been the opposite: to limit participation, to narrow the electorate, and to ensure that opposing viewpoints never see the light of day.
| “If elections are engineered to exclude, then freedom is engineered to fail.” |
A democracy is not a democracy when one party actively restricts voter participation. If that is allowed, we cease to be a democracy at all. We become a country with one-party rule.
A Call to Defend Democracy
Indiana Republicans embarrassed Trump this week, but the larger battle is far from over. Every effort must be pursued to prevent the erosion of free and fair elections. The promise of 1965, the promise that every citizen’s voice matters, cannot be allowed to wither under partisan manipulation.
| “The promise of 1965 cannot survive if gerrymandering and suppression define 2026.” |
The fight for democracy is not abstract. It is here, now, in the maps being drawn, the polling places being closed, and the ballots being challenged. If we fail to defend it, we will wake up in a nation where elections are no longer contests of ideas, but exercises in exclusion.
Leave a Reply