AMERICAN DEMOCRACY AT RISK
Gerrymandering is crippling the democratic process in America by reducing competition in elections.
Tynan Purdy
Our democracy is at risk. Americans declared independence because they wanted representation within their government. One of the most integral pillars of American society is the citizens' right to vote. The nation is governed by its people. Unfortunately, that ability is not real as it was intended to be. Elections in many states are largely determined by those in political power before they even occur. This undermines the democratic process and cripples the nation's main tool in participating in our republic. The scheme at play is known as gerrymandering.
Congressional voting districts are redrawn every 10 years after the new census data is released to accurately group equal populations into districts. However, district lines can be drawn with partisan or racial agendas to serve a political purpose. Gerrymandering can reduce or boost the power of certain voters in the interest of those who draw the lines. This practice is real, has effects in US elections, is undemocratic, and must be eradicated in the constitutional interest of the nation.
Gerrymandering affects elections
The danger of gerrymandering arises from its ability to sway elections almost regardless of the actual proportion of voters for either party. Effective use of packing or cracking renders neighborhoods vote worthless against the party in control of the district lines​. A voting system where those in control of the system can determine the outcome independent of the input into that system is not democratic.
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A voting system where those in control of the system can determine the outcome independent of the input into that system is not democratic.
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This happens in the United States
Gerrymandering happens all too much in real American Congressional Districts. Districts are often delineated by race or packing and cracking party alignment. It would take far too long to inspect each state's districts for unfairness here, but North Carolina and Maryland offer good examples.
The map above shows North Carolina's congressional districts color-coded by their party alignment based on past elections. The districts match a complete republican gerrymander to within 10% accuracy. Democrats are packed entirely into just 3 districts out of the state's 13. The blue districts also happen to be on the two main urban areas of the state, Charlotte and Raleigh.
These Maryland districts demonstrate the other gerrymandering tactic of cracking. A district favoring Republican was divided among neighboring Democratic districts after the 2010 lines were drawn, neutralizing the voice of those voters.
Individual examples prove that gerrymandering occurs, but doesn't substantiate nationwide effects. For that, data on how competitive voting districts are based on past election data and theoretical districts with various agendas from Project FiveThirtyEight demonstrate a trend.
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FiveThirtyEight compiled voting data since 2006 and determined a long term partisan trend for every locale in the country, then drew new district lines with various agendas. The long term partisan prediction assumes voters do not move or change parties for the purpose of the study. The current map is only more competitive than the maps intended to overtly gerrymander for Democrat or Republican. Each of the other maps optimizes for one of the main desirable aspects of a congressional district: equal representation, majority minority, competition, and geographical compactness. These alternate maps all offer a more equal partisan split. The clear thing is that the maps are not as democratic as they could.
WHAT IS GERRYMANDERING?
Educational YouTube creator, CGP Grey explains the various methods and possible outcomes from the use of gerrymandering techniques. He defines gerrymandering as the intentional changing of electoral boundaries for political benefit.
IS THIS SERIOUS?
“In 2016, there were no truly competitive congressional races in 42 of the 50 states. That is not healthy for a system of government that, at its core, is defined by political competition.”​
HAS THIS MADE A DIFFERENCE?
Effective gerrymandering creates what is called an efficiency gap, the difference in how efficiently a party's voters secure seats in congress. Investigations by the Associated Press and Princeton University found that Republicans had a significant advantage in the 2016 presidential election in Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Florida, and Virginia because of gerrymandered districts drawn by Republicans in 2010.
H.R. 1: For the People Act of 2019
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Introduced:
Jan 3, 2019 (116th Congress, 2019–2021)
Sponsor:
Rep. John Sarbanes [D-MD3]
Status:
Passed House (Senate next)
Text:
Read Bill Text » (706 pages)
There is hope for the dismantling of partisan and racial gerrymandering. The For the People Act of 2019 includes reforms for voter empowerment, reducing large donor influence in politics, and ethics rules.
Ethics Rules
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Strict disclosure of conflicts of interest and financial interests
Money in Politics
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Boosting small-dollar campaign donations
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Full disclosure of all political spending
The way to defeat gerrymandering in US congressional districts is to support the For the People Act of 2019 to become law. The bill passed in the House of Representatives in March of 2019. It is now awaiting action in the Senate. As crude as it may seem, a truly impactful way to help is to call your local senator and tell them you support the For the People Act and why. It takes 5 minutes. Head to the US Senators index below to contact your senator.
Voter Empowerment
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Independent redistricting groups
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Improved registration system