California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs bills related to redrawing the state's congressional maps on August 21, 2025 in Sacramento, California. Newsom has thrust himself into a redistricting war with Texas. Filmmaker Jeff Reichert thinks it's a good idea even as he worries about the long-term outlook. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Share on Facebook Share on X Share to Flipboard Send an Email Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Print the Article Post a Comment If you want to understand what's happening in the Texas and California gerrymandering wars, you can watch cable news. Or you can turn to Jeff Reichert's documentary Gerrymandering. A veteran indie film director and distribution executive, Reichert's 2010 movie tackles the fraught question of legislators contortedly redrawing district lines to gain political advantage. The film has just been made available for viewing on Vimeo. Watching it now feels a little like unearthing a Nostradamus quatrain just as Napoleon is coming to power. The film in part tracks the 2003 efforts by Texas Republicans to redistrict their state to their partisan benefit, prompting Democrats to flee to avoid a vote - in other words, a perfect echo of today's headlines. As Texas Republicans move to take five seats from Democrats at the behest of Donald Trump and California governor Gavin Newsom counters with his own mid-decade referendum to restore them for Dems, The Hollywood Reporter caught up with Reichert to gauge the state of affairs as he sees them. Related Stories News Mark Ruffalo Slams Joe Rogan Over Response to ICE Immigration Raids: "It's a Little Late Now" News Gavin Newsom Sues Fox News for $787 Million Over Claims He Lied About a Trump Call I have to say, watching your film now feels extremely eerie. Did you have a crystal ball on 2025 back in 2010? There's no doubt that what's happening in Texas is the sequel to the original horror movie. And horror sequels are always bloodier, meaner and more violent than the original. When you hear about Democrats forcibly restrained from leaving the capital so they must vote, or two [Republican] legislators trying to out-'man' each other by saying they're going to the FBI - well it would be farce if it wasn't so terrifying. What it represents for our democracy and how at least one political party wields power in that democracy is just scary. Mid-decade redistricting - the idea of drawing new districts not based on the census - is, as you document, something that has happened before. And gerrymandering - the original Massachusetts political Gerry who inaugurated the practice - arrived over 200 years ago. Is there any solace to be taken that we've gone through this and survived? You're right that it's not new, even in the modern era. But the difference is that there used to be a lot more legal protections back then [in 2003]. The Voting Rights Act hadn't been chipped away at, as it has by the Supreme Court in various cases over the last 20 years. You have John Roberts saying "it would be nice if there was a standard on partisan gerrymandering" but then the Court ignores the issue. Back with the 2003 redistricting the Supreme Court actually ruled that [Texas23] was unconstitutional because of racial gerrymandering. It's hard to see who offers that protection now. Which brings us to California. It does feel like there's a little bit of other governors taking matters into their own hands, saying if the courts don't stop this, we will - a Commando or Collateral Damage kind of deal. Which is funny by the way because Schwarzenegger is one of the main characters in your film who successfully takes redistricting out of the hands of legislators when he's governor of California, with Prop 11. What do you make of this Newsom vigilante-esque approach? It's hard because in one sense we were there to document the path to Prop 11. And as a citizen I felt pretty good about what we did. It passed by one percent, and then when there was another initiative on the ballot years later it passed by 20 points. I'd like to think we had some impact - we sent out 7,000 copies of the film [to electeds and advocates;] we were part of a movement to take this out of the hands of legislators. But when I hear Newsom I say "yeah, man, do it." It feels like an existential moment for democracy, because what other tools are available if you're a Democrat? So why not go for it. And you're not concerned we'll be right back to where we started with gerrymandering as a partisan weapon, a race to the bottom? Eventually almost no district is ever competitive again, with the opposition party packed into one district or cracked into many small pieces where they have no real influence. Oh I'm definitely concerned. But I think we're in an existential moment right now, and we need to make some choices we wouldn't otherwise make. This Newsom referendum is set up so that California would go back [to the in