Fair Districts PA's Success Proof That Gerrymandering Is Sexy Again
How Gerrymandering Got Sexy
Off-white Districts PA is calling for better redistricting, to ensure fairer elections. And thousands of Pennsylvanians are rallying backside them
Feb. 14, 2017
In that location are many things we could never have predicted earlier November 8th (including, of course, the results on November 8th). Simply ane of the strangest, least expected outcomes of Donald Trump's ballot has taken root hither in Philadelphia, and throughout the land: Suddenly, the subject of gerrymandering has become very sexy.
Gerrymandering is what happens when legislative redistricting breaks bad. Every ten years, subsequently the Census comes out, states have to redraw their congressional and state legislative district maps to account for population changes. In theory, this should be a straightforward, politically-neutral process. In reality, the lines are often drawn in means that can merely be described as contorted and tortured in order to benefit the party who controls the process.
Really, it'south the opposite of gerrymandering that has suddenly become a pop notion—that is, the reasonable redistricting of political boundaries in the state of Pennsylvania, to ensure better and more equitable elections. It's a thankless job; one not popular with many politicians; and ane that promises a long, boring slog to success. "People don't merely wake up one forenoon and say, 'Ah, redistricting, that's my thing,'" says Fair Districts PA Chair Ballad Kuniholm. But, clearly, more and more people are making redistricting their thing.
Fair Districts PA, an offshoot of the League of Women Voters, is dedicated to redistricting reform in Pennsylvania. They're trying to build back up and recruit volunteers for this task of fixing the manner we draw lines. Terminal month, they held an event at the Arch Street Presbyterian Church building, hoping to attract 200 people or so to hear Kuniholm give a presentation about the issue. Fifty-fifty they were a bit surprised when over 700 people came out, most bursting the church's chapters. Meanwhile, they're adding nearly ane,000 followers a calendar week on Facebook , topping 9,700 followers as this story was written. They accept county-based groups beyond the state, and accept several local groups within Philadelphia itself.
The Fair Districts programme is based on other commissions that are already in issue—and constructive. Canada, Swell Britain, and even Arizona all accept nonpartisan redistricting commissions that depict fairer boundaries.
Everyone involved in Fair Districts has their own story of how gerrymandering came to exist their number one issue. For Kuniholm, a one-time youth government minister, it started when she couldn't figure out why a new public school in Kensington wouldn't accept a library. The more she looked into it, the farther she went down the political rabbit hole. "I constitute that modify tin't happen because the legislature is so broken," she says. "Even representatives with the all-time intentions routinely meet shutdown from both sides. So I researched why it'south impossible to become good reforms through, and everything I read led me dorsum to redistricting reform."
Gerrymandering isn't unique to Pennsylvania. It's a problem all across America. Then much so that in his concluding State of the Spousal relationship accost final year, Pres. Obama pointed to gerrymandering as ane of the factors that hinders public trust in government.
Redistricting is, unfortunately, foundational to the style politics operates. It allows the majority political party to redistrict their opponents out of seats, farther increasing majorities that they often shouldn't even accept. It besides creates uncompetitive districts, pregnant that main elections (whose outcomes are frequently decided by political party bigwigs) control the ultimate outcome. Merely it even gets personal: Individual members can be redistricted out of their ain seats, into hostile districts, or up against more than popular incumbents. Party leadership pulls the strings in redistricting, using information technology as a hammer against legislators who dare practice independence. "Information technology'southward the keystone of cronyism and control," says Kuniholm.
Legislative redistricting in Pennsylvania is currently washed by a v person committee. Two members are called by Republicans, two by Democrats, and the fifth by agreement of both parties. If the parties can't concur—and when do they ever?—the 5th member is chosen by the country Supreme Courtroom, which, as of concluding yr, is controlled past Democrats. By law, they tin can draw the lines any way they please, equally long as they meet the very few and very lenient constitutional restrictions on bones fairness.
The next redistricting in Pennsylvania will occur in 2021, after the results of the Census are sent to the states. But the folks at Fair District know that will be here before you know it. Especially since, nether our land constitution, changing the manner we depict lines will accept a ramble amendment, which needs the approval of 2 consecutive sessions of the country legislature and approval past a public referendum. Information technology'south an backbreaking procedure, merely it's doable; merely last yr, we amended our constitution to raise the judicial retirement age from 70 to 75 through the same procedure.
Fair Districts' programme, which they're hoping to get on the ballot in time for the next redistricting, would institute a much more impartial and restricted redistricting commission. Their programme would create a new eleven-fellow member commission, consisting of four Democrats, iv Republicans, and three unaffiliated voters. No one could be on the commission if they or someone in their family unit has been a political leader or has worked for 1 within the concluding five years. The commission would have to redraw districts in compliance with the Voting Rights Act; would have to maintain compactness (i.e. as close to round as possible); preserve communities of involvement (eastward.one thousand. no taking poor communities and dividing them up among wealthy suburbs); and preserve natural political boundaries equally much equally possible (e.m. county lines). But perhaps most importantly, they'd be forbidden from using voting information in their considerations, since knowing how every ward voted is the nigh necessary ingredient for nefarious gerrymandering.
If the plan sounds obsessively neutral, that's considering it is. Unlike Project RedMap or Advantage 2020, Fair Districts is strictly nonpartisan. They're not trying to flip the state legislature or ensure a lasting Republican majority. They only desire to make information technology more representative and more than effective. Whether Republicans or Democrats finish up benefiting is irrelevant, as long as the procedure is fixed. And, quite bluntly, both parties accept strong incentives to fix things this fourth dimension effectually.
Democrats currently suffer from an abysmal lack of representation given that they outnumber Republicans statewide, and partisan redistricting could continue to arrive worse. Only a Democratically-controlled Supreme Courtroom gives Democrats all the power they'll need under the current rules to flip the tables and gerrymander Republicans out of their fair share of representation.
The Fair Districts plan is based on other commissions that are already in effect—and effective. Canada, U.k., California, and even Arizona all have nonpartisan redistricting commissions that depict fairer boundaries. According to Keith Forsyth, Off-white Districts' Philadelphia Coordinator, "If you read the inquiry, in that location are a number of different metrics that measure gerrymandering, and Arizona'south numbers accept gone down to nearly zero since they changed how they redistrict."
Although their plan seems like a no-brainer, non everyone's on lath. A decent number of Democrats favor their plan, like locals Daylin Leach and Pam Delissio, as do some rank-and-file Republicans. But and so far, no support from Republican leadership. "They're opposed to any alter," says Kuniholm. "Their position is that nosotros already accept a citizens committee: It'southward called the state legislature. Legislators are elected by the people and therefore is already democratic." Which, of course, is cool, considering a true citizens commission would never draw districts that looks like this:
Changing how we redistrict isn't going to exist like shooting fish in a barrel. More legislators need to go on board, and that means that more voters of both parties (and Independents!) need to be calling their elected officials and demanding change. The fact that nosotros have such a long constitutional amendment process ways that reform needs to become off the ground in the next couple of years to take effect before 2021. If not, nosotros're looking at xiv more years—until 2031—of nonsensical voting districts that help no one only the politicians we let draw the lines.
"Citizens," says Forsyth, "have amend sense than the legislators do on this event."
Source: https://thephiladelphiacitizen.org/fair-districts-pa-gerrymandering/
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