Stacey Abrams doesn't mince words when she thinks the foundation of American democracy is being dismantled piece by piece. In a recent appearance on the new Guardian podcast Stateside with Kai and Carter, the former Georgia gubernatorial candidate and voting rights activist leveled a staggering accusation against current Republican-led redistricting efforts. She called them "evil incarnate."
It's a heavy phrase. You don't hear it often in polite political discourse, but Abrams isn't interested in being polite right now. She's looking at the math, and the math looks grim for minority voters. Meanwhile, you can read other stories here: The Fatal Economy of the West Bank Barrier.
The end of the Voting Rights Act as we knew it
The catalyst for this latest firestorm is the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais. That ruling effectively weakened a massive pillar of the Voting Rights Act (VRA), specifically Section 2, which previously protected majority-minority districts. By allowing states to redraw maps that eliminate these districts, the court handed a powerful tool to GOP-led legislatures across the South.
Abrams argues this isn't just about winning an election cycle. It's about a permanent shift in power. To see the complete picture, we recommend the excellent article by Al Jazeera.
"When evil is about what you strip from another in pursuit of power, this is evil. This is evil incarnate," Abrams said during the interview.
She isn't just talking about seat counts. She’s talking about her own family. She pointed out that her nieces and nephews are the first generation since Reconstruction to actually lose civil rights during their own lifetimes. That’s a sobering thought that should stop you in your tracks.
Breaking down the Tennessee map hack
If you want to see what this looks like in practice, look at Tennessee. In less than a week after the Callais decision, Republican lawmakers moved with predatory speed. They took the ninth congressional district—home to Memphis and a massive concentration of Black voters—and cracked it into three separate pieces.
Each new piece contains roughly a third of Memphis’s Black voters. By scattering them into three different districts, their collective voting power is effectively neutralized. Instead of one strong voice, you get three whispers drowned out by rural Republican majorities. Because of this, all nine of Tennessee’s congressional districts are now Republican-leaning.
Abrams calls this "kneecapping the players." It’s not just a tough game; she views it as a refusal to compete on a level playing field.
Why the courts still matter even when we lose
You might think that if the Supreme Court is the one gutting the VRA, there’s no point in suing. Abrams disagrees. She looks back at history—names like Plessy v. Ferguson and Dred Scott—to show that fighting losing battles in court is how you build a record for the future.
It's about "muscle memory." You fight to keep the public engaged, to sharpen legal arguments, and to document the intentionality of the voter suppression. Even if a judge tosses a case today, that evidence stays on the record. It becomes the ammunition for the next generation of civil rights lawyers.
The move toward a competitive authoritarian state
The most alarming part of Abrams' analysis is her claim that the U.S. is sliding into a "competitive authoritarian state." This happens when democratic institutions—the courts, the legislatures, the law itself—are used as weapons to hollow out accountability.
She’s looking at international examples for a glimmer of hope, specifically Hungary. For 16 years, Viktor Orbán held a tight grip on power using similar tactics. But just last month, massive voter turnout led to the ousting of the authoritarian leader and the election of Péter Magyar.
The lesson? High turnout is the only thing that can break a rigged map.
What you can actually do about it
It’s easy to feel paralyzed by this stuff. But if you're living in a district that’s been "cracked" or "packed," the strategy has to shift from defense to expansion.
- Registration is the only "cheat code" left. Abrams famously used voter registration to flip Georgia. If your district was broken into three, that actually creates three different areas where registration efforts can eventually overwhelm the new boundaries.
- Support local litigation. Groups like Fair Fight and the ACLU are still filing suits. These aren't just symbolic; they slow down the implementation of the most radical maps.
- Focus on demographic reality. The GOP is moving fast because they see the numbers. They know the country is diversifying. The urgency of their redistricting is a direct reaction to the fact that, in a fair fight, they’re losing ground.
Don't let the complexity of redistricting bore you into silence. The maps are the "how" of power. If you don't pay attention to the lines, you're letting someone else decide the outcome before you even walk into the voting booth.
Stacey Abrams on GOP gerrymandering surge
This video provides additional context from Stacey Abrams on how authoritarian tactics are being used in modern U.S. redistricting and why she believes "people power" is the primary defense against these efforts.
