Poll Reveals Strong Opposition to Mid-Decade Redistricting
A recent Marquette Law School poll indicates that over 70% of Americans, regardless of their political affiliation, are against redistricting efforts in the middle of a decade. The survey results, released on Wednesday, show that 71% of all respondents oppose such actions, a slight increase from 70% in September, while only 28% support the idea.
Interestingly, the opposition among Republicans has grown. About 70% of Republicans are now against the redistricting move, marking an 8-point rise from 62% in September. Meanwhile, only 30% of Republicans view mid-decade redistricting favorably. On the Democratic side, 73% oppose the redistricting, though this figure is down from 80% in the previous month. Only 27% of Democrats expressed support for the initiative.
The poll also found that 68% of independent voters are opposed to states redrawing congressional maps in mid-decade, while 31% support it.
In a related development, a federal panel of judges ruled recently that Texas cannot utilize the newly drawn Republican-friendly congressional maps. This serves as a significant setback for the Republican Party.
Earlier in August, Texas Governor Greg Abbott had signed a law that aimed to increase Republican representation in the House by as much as five seats for the upcoming 2026 midterm elections.
On another front, California voters approved Proposition 50 on November 4, a measure championed by Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom that seeks to enhance Democratic representation by potentially adding five seats. However, the Department of Justice announced plans to sue Newsom and California Secretary of State Shirley Weber over the new congressional map.
This strategic move by Newsom seems to be a countermeasure against Texas’s redistricting efforts.
California’s Attorney General, Pam Bondi, asserted that Newsom’s Proposition 50 amounts to a “power grab through redistricting.”
The Marquette Law School Poll surveyed 1,052 U.S. adults from November 5 to November 12, with a margin of error of ±3.3 percentage points. Among these, 903 were registered voters, with a margin of error of ±3.5 percentage points, and 602 indicated they planned to vote, with a margin of error of ±4.3 percentage points.
