Quote:
Originally Posted by crockett
For the record politicians and political parties should have nothing at all to do with drawing district lines. They should be drawn with computer software and then those results approved by a panel independent panel. Politicians who have something to gain should be no where near this process..
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That might be a bit of wishful thinking. But I do wish.
The moment a computer has the decision, is the moment we have a new argument about the programmer.
In every case I have seen where gerrymandering was decided, they split counties up to 4 districts to bunch a party to minority status.
In the state of Ohio, they made one district and many counties of nearly all the the Ohio river tract. Where much of the industry remains and that made those of a common industry interest only one vote whereas they had 7 votes along the river. that move not only hurt the dem's, but the state as a whole. They crammed most of the pro labor folks into 1 districts in Clev, akron in NE OH and over 4 counties split multiple ways.
So it shows they are willing to do it at any expense against their own interest at times and proves the care more about control than governess.
The same in Pa where many counties (larger than most states have) were split into 4&5 congressional districts. Similarly in NC. There was no hiding the gerrymandering.
Notice this map has been updated to reflect the court ordered changes in Pa a year ago.
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/map
Any place you see a zig zag long stung out district implies gerrymandering.
What really gets me as we see this go a step further each time it comes around, I fear what may come next. It appears they can make their own rules as they go and not pay a price for it. In fact they get away with it for 8 years for the most part.
I don't have any real answers but what I see is just wrong.
Perhaps just a popular vote would stop the pressure to improperly change the districts and states could be better represented by districts of more common interest.