Only 18 of 435 House seats are genuinely competitive in 2026. That means 95% of Americans go to the polls for their House race with functionally one real option. It's not because the country is that divided; it's because politicians have been drawing their own districts in a nuclear arms race of gerrymandering that has no natural end.

Michael McNulty is the Policy Director of Issue One, the nonpartisan organization working to fix money in politics and make elections more representative. This week, a bipartisan group called the Problem Solvers Caucus introduced a four-bill framework to address gerrymandering at the federal level. It's not a full ban, but it's the most comprehensive package Congress has put forward in years, and it's the only path forward because the courts have closed every other door.

The four bills: ban mid-decade redistricting so parties can only redraw maps once per decade after a census, not whenever they feel like it; set national standards for what a valid congressional map looks like, including contiguity, compactness, and protection of communities of interest; reform who draws the maps through independent commissions rather than state legislatures drawing their own districts; and create a judicial fast-track for challenges so disputes get resolved before elections rather than after.

Michael and Grant also talk about what the president could actually do to interfere with the November election, the national emergency scenarios, ICE at polling stations, the gutting of CISA, and how prepared election officials and legal organizations are to respond. Michael's honest assessment: people should vote with confidence. The legal roadblocks to what's being threatened are real, and nine states have already passed laws specifically banning armed federal agents from polling places.

Issue One Voter Toolkit

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