David Pepper has witnessed Ohio devolve into an electoral autocracy where extreme Republican gerrymandering ensures that the results of the state elections are pre-determined. This is happening across the country in so-called red states, which are in reality voter suppression states or Republican hostage states. Pepper explains how we got here, what can still be done about it, and his list of reasons and strategies to fight like hell. For more on Pepper’s work, check out his book Laboratories of Autocracy: A Wake-Up Call from Behind the Lines and his website LaboratoriesOfAutocracy.com.

This post was originally published on Gaslit Nation with Andrea Chalupa and Sarah Kendzior.