How Redistricting Is Upending America’s Midterms

How Redistricting Is Upending America’s Midterms

From Reveal by The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX

May 13, 2026 · 28 min

About this episode

The episode discusses how recent changes in redistricting laws are impacting the upcoming midterm elections in the U.S.

More To The Story: Voters are heading to the polls for this year’s midterms, but the electoral maps are shifting under their feet in real time. Last month, the Supreme Court narrowed a provision in the Voting Rights Act that allowed states to consider race when redrawing maps. That decision set off a mad scramble by GOP state legislatures to alter their maps ahead of November’s elections, a move that could disenfranchise Black voters. Meanwhile, Democrats were dealt a major blow last week when their own redistricting efforts in Virginia were struck down by the state Supreme Court. On this week’s More To The Story, Mother Jones national correspondent Tim Murphy and host Al Letson try to make sense of this unprecedented midterm season, gauge the Democrats’ chances of taking back Congress, and examine how President Donald Trump’s threats to the electoral system could play out in November. Producer: Josh Sanburn | Editor: Kara McGuirk-Allison | Theme music: Fernando Arruda and Jim Briggs | Copy editor: Nikki Frick | Digital producer: Artis Curiskis | Deputy executive producer: Taki Telonidis | Executive producer: Brett Myers | Executive editor: James West | Host: Al Letson Listen…

People in this episode

Host: Al Letson

Guest: Tim Murphy

Topics covered

  • redistricting
  • midterm elections
  • Voting Rights Act
  • disenfranchisement
  • political strategy
  • Congress
  • electoral system

Keywords

  • redistricting
  • midterms
  • Voting Rights Act
  • GOP
  • Democrats
  • Donald Trump
  • Virginia
  • elections

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Mother Jones, Supreme Court, GOP, Democrats, Virginia Supreme Court, Reveal

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