ger·ry·man·der
/ˈjerēˌmandər/
verb
manipulate the boundaries of (an electoral constituency) so as to favor one party or class.
The issue over New Mexico's gerrymandered U.S. House districts has gone to trial.
It will be interesting to see who prevails in the trial that is expected to last three days.
Piñon Post reported:
The trial over accusations of partisan gerrymandering by the far-left Democrat-controlled Legislature commenced on Wednesday, adding fuel to the ongoing national debate on redistricting. The focus is on New Mexico’s Second District, a crucial battleground that has swung between parties in the past three elections and holds significance in the Republicans’ efforts to maintain their majority in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2024.
The Republican Party contends that the new map, orchestrated by Democrats, deviates from established redistricting norms by dividing communities to gain a political advantage. They argue that this deliberate manipulation aims to diminish the conservative voice in southeastern New Mexico, an oil-producing stronghold, by splitting it among three congressional districts favoring Democrats.
During the redistricting process, New Mexicans from across the state gave input to the Legislature through meetings held by the state’s Citizens Redistricting Committee. All the recommendations from the committee were tossed out for an extremely partisan gerrymandered map that chopped up Republican areas of the state into districts that have been Democrat strongholds in an attempt at swinging the Second District to favor progressive Democrat candidates.
During the trial, Republican attorneys presented evidence, including text messages from a top Democratic legislator, suggesting flagrant gerrymandering tactics. State Rep. James Townsend (R-Artesia), a retired oil pipeline supervisor and former state House minority leader, testified that the intent was to secure Democrat victories in these districts, marginalizing Republican lawmakers from the process.
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