Lines in the Sand
From Chris Sousa
In the aftermath of the Texas redistricting debacle, where Republicans re-drew legislative boundaries mid-decade to squeeze a few more seats out of the Democratic column, many felt that the issue was settled until the next round after the next Census. However, the Georgia legislature recently approved new boundaries for the 2006 races, which may spark the fuse on ad hoc redistricting on both sides of the aisle. Congressman Tanner of Tennessee has introduced the “Fairness and Independence in Redistricting Act of 2005 which would initiate necessary reforms to save the integrity of our political system.
In less than ten percent of the 435 House races in 2004 did the winner receive 55 percent of the vote or less. This nationwide, non-competitiveness is a direct result of the redistricting process of 49 of our nation's states, which counter-intuitively invest the power to draw legislative boundaries in the political branches. With the advent of computer programs that can create detailed lines that take into account voting patterns, politicians now can pick their voter base. In today's America, representatives now select their constituents, not the other way around. The main byproduct of this system has been the ideological polarization in the House of Representatives who can rely on the votes from their partisan base and need not appeal to the political center for re-election.
Congressman Tanner's proposed bill will divorce the boundaries process from the political branches and invest the district drawing powers with an independent panel. This set-up mirrors those in other democracies with Single-Member Districts, such as the United Kingdom and Canada. Under the bill, each state's commission will be equally appointed by the majority and minority party in the state legislature, and will not be allowed to consider such information as voter registration and patterns and will instead attempt to craft a map faithful to existing municipal and county lines.
In order to avoid a heated partisan battle after the next census and to temper the ideological gulf in Congress, legislators should pass Congressman Tanner's bill.
In the aftermath of the Texas redistricting debacle, where Republicans re-drew legislative boundaries mid-decade to squeeze a few more seats out of the Democratic column, many felt that the issue was settled until the next round after the next Census. However, the Georgia legislature recently approved new boundaries for the 2006 races, which may spark the fuse on ad hoc redistricting on both sides of the aisle. Congressman Tanner of Tennessee has introduced the “Fairness and Independence in Redistricting Act of 2005 which would initiate necessary reforms to save the integrity of our political system.
In less than ten percent of the 435 House races in 2004 did the winner receive 55 percent of the vote or less. This nationwide, non-competitiveness is a direct result of the redistricting process of 49 of our nation's states, which counter-intuitively invest the power to draw legislative boundaries in the political branches. With the advent of computer programs that can create detailed lines that take into account voting patterns, politicians now can pick their voter base. In today's America, representatives now select their constituents, not the other way around. The main byproduct of this system has been the ideological polarization in the House of Representatives who can rely on the votes from their partisan base and need not appeal to the political center for re-election.
Congressman Tanner's proposed bill will divorce the boundaries process from the political branches and invest the district drawing powers with an independent panel. This set-up mirrors those in other democracies with Single-Member Districts, such as the United Kingdom and Canada. Under the bill, each state's commission will be equally appointed by the majority and minority party in the state legislature, and will not be allowed to consider such information as voter registration and patterns and will instead attempt to craft a map faithful to existing municipal and county lines.
In order to avoid a heated partisan battle after the next census and to temper the ideological gulf in Congress, legislators should pass Congressman Tanner's bill.
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