Fair Districts: Taming the Gerrymandering Beast
Redistricting and Reapportionment
All across our nation, right now, politicians are gathering to decide who will and will not be your next State Representatives, Senators and U.S. Members of Congress. And, not for just the next two, four or even six years. Nope, what they are working on now could virtually "lock-in" incumbents for the next decade and beyond. And yet, no one will be urging you to get out and make your voice heard with your vote. Because, simply put, you and I don't have a vote in this process and incumbent politicians have no desire or interest in giving us one. But that doesn't mean we should keep silent and pretend to like it. Just the contrary, if ever there was a time to stand up and be heard about this process, now is that time. There is too much at stake to suffer in silence.
Reapportionment and Redistricting. Not exactly household names like Letterman and Leno, but their appearance in mainstream media every ten years signals that decisions will soon be made about how many Representatives each State gets and even who will be your next Representatives and how likely they are to stay in power. Yes, this is all happening without your vote. And sadly, unlike with Messrs. Letterman and Leno, there isn't much to laugh about with this process.
Basically, reapportionment reconfigures how many representatives each State gets based on population. The US Census Bureau does their count every ten years and some states gain while other states lose population. For example, from this latest count in 2010, Texas will gain 4 seats in Congress, while the Midwest (because people tended to migrate to the south and west) will lose congressional seats in states like Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, and Iowa. So, while our population as a nation grew a whopping 9.7% (from about 281 million to nearly 309 million) the critical factor was where people are now choosing to live. With more state population come more votes. And with votes come political muscle needed to get your way.
Not only are districts reapportioned to account for population changes, the once-a-decade process also allows other goals, some good some not so good, influence the new lines. Determining what part of the state an incumbent will represent can and does impact just who will and who will not get to stay in power. And that's where redistricting comes in to play. The political party with the majority of seats in each state legislature (with very few exceptions) right now gets to carve up their state virtually any way it wants, tending toward giving their preferred incumbents and party a nearly unbeatable winning ticket to re-election. Forget competitive races, responsive leaders and open, transparent democracy. This is about closed-door deals, "sweet-heart" map drawing and incumbent protection. It distorts democracy and fairness and can render formal elections a mere "rubber-stamping" of the line drawers’ will. Sometimes the game is decided before the tip-off.
Thankfully, lots of energized citizens just like you are working hard to open the doors to this process and let the light shine in on the murky deal-making. Many are also working to reform the process and at the very least, ensure that citizens, no matter what state they live in, can have their voice heard -- as it should be in a true and genuine democracy. As the new Fair Districts Director for Common Cause, I am inspired by the efforts of so many to hold those in power accountable and to fight the good and absolutely necessary, fight. Join us. Because while what the politicians are doing right now is just not fair, with your help it can be. Even if they'd prefer us to just stay silent and like it.
