Redistricting battle promotes chaos, a tit for tat

Over the years, I covered more than one effort by the Nebraska Legislature to redraw the boundaries of districts for state legislators and U.S. congressional representatives, among others, due to shifts in the state’s population.

Those efforts, according to the State Constitution, always follow the latest U.S. Census, which happens at the beginning of each decade.

There’s a lot of data to pour through, and the process, in my opinion, becomes the most partisan exercise in the mostly nonpartisan Unicameral Legislature.

The top priority is redrawing districts so that no sitting state senator would lose their seat, by being “drawn” out of their district.

But there is a heavy dose of politics, especially when it comes to drawing new congressional districts, to ensure that Republicans – who now control the Legislature and congressional seats – win.

For instance, Saline County, once a hotbed for Democrats, was drawn out of the 1st Congressional District because there were too many Democrats there and the GOP-dominated Legislature wanted Republicans to continue to win that seat.

The Bellevue area, which has a lot in common with Omaha (back in the day, a lot of Sarpy County addresses were listed as “Omaha” even though they weren’t in the city limits), was suddenly drawn out of the 2nd Congressional District. Again, too many Democrats, and the desire to give a Republican a fair shot in the Omaha-dominated 2nd District (which now includes rural Saunders County, which has little in common with Omaha).

In Nebraska, districts are supposed to be drawn for “compactness” and to preserve “communities with (common) interests,” and without consideration of party affiliation. But one look at the state’s three congressional districts makes you scratch your head.

U.S. Rep. Adrian Smith’s 3rd District resembles a Pac Man, that wraps around the Omaha and Lincoln areas to gobble up counties along the Missouri River. And U.S. Rep. Mike Flood’s 1st District includes GOP strongholds like Madison and Platte counties instead of containing areas of southeast Nebraska that do have a lot in common with Lincoln.

There’s been a lot written about the “death” of the moderate Republican, and redistricting has played a huge role in that.

If you create a “safe” district with enough Republicans to ensure an “R” candidate will win, you also increase the chances that a more conservative Republican will win that seat. That’s because elections in “safe” districts come down to who wins the primary, and in the primary, fewer people (and less moderates) vote, making it more likely that a very conservative candidate will eventually become the winner. This all brings us to the current kerfuffle over redistricting in Texas and California.

President Trump, who complained loudly (and falsely) that the 2020 election was “rigged” against him, is now trying to rig an election in his favor.

Opinion polls show that many of his policies are unpopular, and with a slim majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, there’s concern that Democrats will take over in 2026, and frustrate any Trump proposals.

So, he commanded that Texas redraw its congressional districts so that there are more “safe” Republican districts created. Instead of Democrats holding 11 of the 38 House seats in Texas, the redistricting would favor Republican victories in five more districts, making it more likely the GOP holds its Trump-friendly majority in the House.

The purpose seems to be “If you can’t win a game by the rules, change them in the middle of the game.” And that can lead to chaos.

We’re already seeing California take steps to redistrict that state, creating more safe districts for Democrats, to counter what happened in Texas. Other states may follow suit, creating a chess match-like tit for tat to favor one party or another.

I doubt that you can take partisan politics totally out of the redistricting process. But there has to be an end to it, like only allowing it (like Nebraska does) once every decade, not mid-decade as Texas and California are doing to rig and unrig an election.

All Americans, I’m hoping, want a stable and predictable government, one that doesn’t shift on a dime to satisfy some political whim. Here’s hoping some judges will agree with that and end this redistricting chess match.

Paul Hammel has covered the Nebraska state government and the state for decades. Prior to his retirement, he was senior contributor with the Nebraska Examiner. He was previously with the Omaha World-Herald, Lincoln Journal Star and Omaha Sun.