Thanks for joining us for Denison Forum's Daily Article podcast. I'm Chris Elkins, narrating

today's daily article written by our CEO, Dr. Jim Denison. The Texas Senate passed a controversial

bill over the weekend, creating five new GOP-leaning districts following a similar Texas House vote earlier in the week.

Governor Greg Abbott stated that he would swiftly sign the bill into law when it reaches his desk.

When he does, Democrats and civil rights groups are expected to challenge the new maps in court.

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed the Election Riggings Response Act,

which would transform five Republican seats into districts that heavily favor Democrats.

If California voters approved the measure in a special November 4th election,

it would cancel the GOP seats gained in Texas.

The term gerrymandering was first used in 1812 when Massachusetts Governor Elbridge Jerry

signed a bill redrawing state Senate election districts.

Though Jerry was a signer of the Declaration of Independence and U.S. vice president

under James Madison, his name has been forever linked to what many consider political powerbroking.

Speaking of Mr. Madison, Patrick Henry tried to gerrymander him out of a congressional seat in 1789,

showing that the practice is nothing new.

Election districts have been redrawn over the years through legislative procedures such as we're

seeing in Texas and through court actions. Both parties have engaged in the practice as a means of

increasing their political power. But is such partisanship what Mr. Madison and the founders

intended? I just finished reading Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Joseph J. Ellis's book, The Quartet,

orchestrating the Second American Revolution 1783 to 1789. He describes in vivid detail the remarkable work of Alexander Hamilton,

John Jay, James Madison, and indispensably George Washington in leading the newly independent

United States to become a truly united nation. As Ellis shows, the cause for which the 13 American colonies fought

...