How to Put the Stake through Gerrymander's Heart

If a congressional district is gerrymandered to favor one group, it necessarily discriminates against every other group.

Elbridge Gerry, who served as governor of Massachusetts from 1810 to 1812, was the political force behind the original gerrymandered congressional district. That district, if his political foes are to be believed, was shaped like a salamander. They therefore christened it “the gerrymander.”

If a district is gerrymandered to favor the white population, it necessarily discriminates against blacks, Hispanics, Asians and every other group. If a district is gerrymandered to favor the black population, it necessarily discriminates against whites, Hispanics, Asians and every other group, etc.

Similarly, a district drawn to favor a rural populace necessarily disfavors suburbanites and urbanites included within the district.

I am just cynical enough to believe that whoever draws a district’s lines will draw them for the benefit of his political constituents and cronies. If Democrats draw the district lines, they will favor Democrats. If Republicans draw them, they will favor Republicans. If a Bernie Sanders supporter draws them, socialists will benefit.

And I don’t believe that nonpartisan, blue ribbon reform committees are as nonpartisan as they claim to be.

So do you really want to drive a stake through the heart of the gerrymander?

Here is my simple suggestion for redistricting:


A. SHAPE OF DISTRICTS


All districts shall be square, or if that is not possible, rectangular. No district shall have more than four sides. No exceptions.

All four sides shall be straight lines, unless one of the four sides of the square or rectangle is an irregular state border, or is formed by a river or other geographical or boundary feature that is not a straight line.

Where the state boundary line is a straight line, a congressional district shall be a square, or if that is not possible, a rectangle. In no event shall any district have five or more sides.

A district at the confluence of two state border rivers, at the south end of Illinois, may have only three sides, with the two rivers joining, each constituting one side.

B. ONE MAN, ONE VOTE

Because of differences in population density, the square or rectangular districts will vary in geographical size. But they shall be equal, within 1 percent, in population.

C. FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED

The only factor that may be considered in setting the size of the squares or rectangles is population.

Race, creed, color, national ancestry, religion, urban/suburban/rural considerations or any factor other than population may not be considered in creating the squares or triangles.

Population means U.S. citizens eligible to vote.


D. USE COMPUTER TO DRAW LINES

The squares or rectangles shall be created by a computer, subject to the rules set out in paragraphs A, B and C. The computer shall be programed to create squares or rectangles containing approximately 710,000 U.S. citizens eligible to vote.

The population difference between the largest district and the smallest district shall not exceed 1 percent.

If you want competitive congressional districts, do it my way.

If you’d prefer to rearrange the deck chairs on the deck of the Titanic, then take into account one or more factors other than population.

You can see Gov. Gerry’s gerrymander at columbia.edu/~so33/SusDev/Lecture11MinorityExample.pdf.

Posted: QCOline.com May 9, 2018
Copyright 2018, John Donald O'Shea