Ex-attorney general Eric Holder on gerrymandering: 'Republicans have to cheat' in elections

Former attorney general Eric Holder said the country's democracy is in need of a "serious renovation," claiming Republicans practicing gerrymandering threaten voting rights.

Holder, the chairman of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, criticized laws aimed at suppressing voter turnout and took aim at Republicans he believed to be redrawing electoral maps to splinter Democratic bases of support in an interview on CBS' "Good Mornings" on Monday.

"I'm committed to fighting for fairness," Holder said. "Because I'm also confident that if the process is fair, the Democrats, progressives will do just fine. We don't have to cheat; Republicans have to cheat in order to win.

Holder's comments coincide with fellow Democratic voices calling for increased access to voting opportunities and reforms to combat alleged voter suppression tactics across the nation. But evidence shows it happens on both sides of the aisle. The New York’s Court of Appeals found last month that the Democrats' congressional district boundaries violated the state Constitution’s ban on maps drawn to "discourage competition or for the purpose of favoring or disfavoring incumbents or other particular candidates or political parties."

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"There have been maps that Democrats have drawn in this cycle that I don't agree with, New York and Maryland among them," Holder said. "But those pale in comparison to what Republicans have done in Texas, Georgia, potentially in Florida. You're comparing apples and oranges in a lot of ways."

Holder's new book, "Our Unfinished March," suggests assigning term limits for Supreme Court justices who currently are appointed for life; eliminate the Electoral College, and grant statehood to Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia – whose residents have no vote in Congress.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Eric Holder, ex-attorney general: Republicans 'cheat' in elections