The Trouble With Gerrymandering
Perhaps one of most overlooked powers that govern our society is the drawing of Congressional districts. We entrust our state governments to fairly draw districts within states that will ensure competitive elections, and allow the citizens of the United States the well-functioning democracy that they are entitled to. The process of gerrymandering, however, severely inhibits our democracy by drawing arbitrary districts that allow either Democrats or Republicans to securely win seats in Congress and the state legislatures.
Named for American politician Elbridge Gerry, gerrymandering packs in similar voters together and spreads out majorities that will favor a particular party. For example, if a particular area is 60% African American and 40% white, whoever draws the boundaries for the congressional districts can manipulate the system. In this instance, the borders could be drawn to put 30% of the African American voters in one district, and then establish white majority districts with the rest of the borders. This development was recently observed in Virginia, as African American voters were packed together to allow Congressmen David Brat and J. Randy Forbes easy elections. Thankfully, a federal redistricting panel observed this injustice and demanded that the 3rd Congressional district be redrawn.
Another recent instance of gerrymandering was found in Pennsylvania, where 4 different expert witnesses found the state to be gerrymandered for the purpose of silencing Democratic voters. The Supreme Court declined to take on this case, as they already have four other gerrymandering cases this year.
Gerrymandering is clearly a threat to our democracy. Both the Democrats and Republicans are guilty of the practice. In order to prevent the rigging of our democracy, we must empower federal redistricting boards to draw districts that have diverse sets of voters, and create the most competitive environments possible. This way, Republicans and Democrats alike will have to earn the votes of the American people, and will not simply have safe districts in which they do not have to try very hard. This will allow for a greater exchange of ideas, a crackdown on corruption, and a better political society.
Sources:
https://www.wired.com/story/pennsylvania-partisan-gerrymandering-experts/