How democratic would our system of electing members of the House of Representatives be if it allowed the voters in the district to only elect a Democrat? A Republican? A socialist?
While we don't have such a system, we have permitted gerrymandering, which effectively achieves the same results: districts designed to elect the candidate of one party.
On June 30, 2014, PBS News Hour reported that "This year, Congress logged a confidence rating of 7 percent, the lowest Gallup has measured for any institution ever."
Yet, every two years Republicans and Democratic incumbents are re-elected to the U.S. House. Why? The answer is simple: gerrymandering!
Every 10 years, Republican-controlled state legislatures redraw their state's congressional districts to guarantee that a maximum number of those districts will be "safe" for Republican candidates.
And every 10 years, Democrat-controlled state legislatures redraw their state's congressional districts to guarantee that a maximum number of those districts will be "safe" for Democratic candidates.
On June 30, 2014, PBS News Hour reported, "Only about four dozen of the 435 House seats are considered in play this year, meaning either party might conceivably win them in November."
Only 48 of 435 total number of House seats were in play; that means, 407 of 435 weren't. They were safe.
For the year 2020, The Cook Political Report (Feb. 1) opines that only 20 out of 435 Congressional Districts will be truly competitive, and 349 others will be either solidly Democratic or Republican.
Of the remaining 70, a number of these seats are not considered competitive at this point, but have the potential to become so, while the rest are considered "competitive races, but where one party has the advantage."
The 15th Amendment to our U.S. Constitution says, "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude."
It is time that the Supreme Court construes that consistently with its plain language.
Congressional districts drawn to favor white Americans necessarily discriminate against the blacks and all other Americans. Districts drawn to favor black Americans necessarily discriminate against all other Americans.
When read together with the 14th Amendment's guarantee of equal protection, it should be clear that drawing districts that favor Republicans visits inequality upon Democrats; and vice versa.
There is only one way to create more competitive districts. Make all districts four-sided, with straight lines, and with the population of each being as equal as possible. Outlaw any Congressional map with districts shaped like those in Illinois.
The shapes of Illinois 5th, 6th, 7th, 9th, and 11th Congressional Districts would make Elbridge Gerry (the namesake of gerrymandering) giddy. But the 4th District's shape is the true pièce de résistance! (See it for yourself at wikipedia.org/wiki/Illinois%27_congressional_districts.)
Shortly, the U.S. Supreme Court will consider two case -- a Maryland case and a North Carolina case -- involving claims of gerrymandering and denials of equal protection. Here's how justices should rule:
-- A. Shape of district:
All districts shall be square, or if that is not possible, rectangular. No district shall have more than four sides and four angles. No exceptions. All four sides shall be straight lines, unless one or more of the four sides is an irregular state border, such as a river or lake state border. In no event shall any district have five or more sides or angles. A district may have only three sides and angles where the state's boundaries or state boundary rivers or lakes dictate.
-- B. One man, one vote
All districts shall be equal in population, i.e., within 1 percent.
-- 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 computers to draw lines:
The squares or rectangles shall be created by a computer, subject to the rules set out in sections A, B and C. The computer shall be programed to create squares or rectangles containing 710,000 U.S. citizens eligible to vote.
Do I believe the U.S. Supreme Court will have the guts require this? No. Would my plan make for competitive elections in all districts? No. (Even without cheating, some areas simply contain more Republicans or more Democrats. That's fine.)
But it would make for a lot more districts competitive.
Posted: QCOline.com March 14, 2019
Copyright 2019, John Donald O'Shea
Every 10 years, Republican-controlled state legislatures redraw their state's congressional districts to guarantee that a maximum number of those districts will be "safe" for Republican candidates.
And every 10 years, Democrat-controlled state legislatures redraw their state's congressional districts to guarantee that a maximum number of those districts will be "safe" for Democratic candidates.
On June 30, 2014, PBS News Hour reported, "Only about four dozen of the 435 House seats are considered in play this year, meaning either party might conceivably win them in November."
Only 48 of 435 total number of House seats were in play; that means, 407 of 435 weren't. They were safe.
For the year 2020, The Cook Political Report (Feb. 1) opines that only 20 out of 435 Congressional Districts will be truly competitive, and 349 others will be either solidly Democratic or Republican.
Of the remaining 70, a number of these seats are not considered competitive at this point, but have the potential to become so, while the rest are considered "competitive races, but where one party has the advantage."
The 15th Amendment to our U.S. Constitution says, "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude."
It is time that the Supreme Court construes that consistently with its plain language.
Congressional districts drawn to favor white Americans necessarily discriminate against the blacks and all other Americans. Districts drawn to favor black Americans necessarily discriminate against all other Americans.
When read together with the 14th Amendment's guarantee of equal protection, it should be clear that drawing districts that favor Republicans visits inequality upon Democrats; and vice versa.
There is only one way to create more competitive districts. Make all districts four-sided, with straight lines, and with the population of each being as equal as possible. Outlaw any Congressional map with districts shaped like those in Illinois.
The shapes of Illinois 5th, 6th, 7th, 9th, and 11th Congressional Districts would make Elbridge Gerry (the namesake of gerrymandering) giddy. But the 4th District's shape is the true pièce de résistance! (See it for yourself at wikipedia.org/wiki/Illinois%27_congressional_districts.)
Shortly, the U.S. Supreme Court will consider two case -- a Maryland case and a North Carolina case -- involving claims of gerrymandering and denials of equal protection. Here's how justices should rule:
-- A. Shape of district:
All districts shall be square, or if that is not possible, rectangular. No district shall have more than four sides and four angles. No exceptions. All four sides shall be straight lines, unless one or more of the four sides is an irregular state border, such as a river or lake state border. In no event shall any district have five or more sides or angles. A district may have only three sides and angles where the state's boundaries or state boundary rivers or lakes dictate.
-- B. One man, one vote
All districts shall be equal in population, i.e., within 1 percent.
-- 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 computers to draw lines:
The squares or rectangles shall be created by a computer, subject to the rules set out in sections A, B and C. The computer shall be programed to create squares or rectangles containing 710,000 U.S. citizens eligible to vote.
Do I believe the U.S. Supreme Court will have the guts require this? No. Would my plan make for competitive elections in all districts? No. (Even without cheating, some areas simply contain more Republicans or more Democrats. That's fine.)
But it would make for a lot more districts competitive.
Posted: QCOline.com March 14, 2019
Copyright 2019, John Donald O'Shea
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