I have no political experience and I don't really want to have any. But, the current situation in the USA is forcing me to get to know it better.
One of the areas that I always felt pretty good about in the USA was that by voting we could decide who represents us in our Local, State, and National Elections. But, now I'm being shown something disturbing about American Politics that I never really thought would be that big of a problem, and it isn't a new issue at all. In fact, is a very old issue. It is called "Gerrymander."
What a weird word! Gerrymander? Really? Who thought up that word anyway?
The definition of Gerrymander is pretty simple. It is drawing voting districts to give a party an advantage over that area.
Why is this a problem? What is the real issue here? Why should we all care?
It should be said that the practice of gerrymandering affects the House of Representatives at the National and State levels, as well as the Senate and local elections at the state and local levels.
The idea of representative government is to elect legislators and local government organizations that reflect the will of the populace in those areas. The House of Representatives is one of the most powerful branches of government and getting a majority in the House goes a long way in determining the direction of the country. So, monkeying around with the voting districts in states can have a huge effect on national politics and the representation of the people in congress.
It is not uncommon for certain districts to be traditionally known for which party they vote for. This is not a bad thing because we need a diverse landscape of opinions in order to actually be a democracy and get things done that are for the good of the people who vote folks into office.
But, when districts get redrawn to adjust the majority in districts to one political party over the other it literally makes voting in those districts practically worthless. This means that with the same amount of votes an election produces different results.
For instance. When one district has been historically been represented by one party, and they redraw the lines, all of the sudden a different party wins, and the voting is more or less the same, what happens is those who voted the same way they always have and expect to get the same representation they always got, now have no representation at all. I'd like to say that this just happens with one party, but it doesn't necessarily mean that. But, the kicker is, the party that is in power can legally do this because they control the government. The redistricting usually comes at the beginning of the decade just after the results of the census is known.
But, what can happen, is that a government can literally gerrymander the entire state in such a way that only their party wins, or is in the vast majority. The question is no longer what is going to happen in an election, but by how much?
I do not have the numbers on me right now to dive deep and take a look at this problem. But, it is a huge problem. How the populace is divided up into districts should be done equitably and not be drawn to favor one party or another. Do the people still have the ability to overcome this, yes, but it is not an easy thing to do especially since the electorate today is so polarized into one camp or the other.
Giving a "Carte Blanche" to any Party, Governor, or President is bad for democracy. That much is certain. If the members of the parties all tow the party line instead of making up their own mind or do what is best for their constituents then an authoritarian regime is close at hand.
The lines of districts are being redrawn that change the representation in congress and in state and local governments all over the country. This means that there is a disenfranchising of voters to have their voices heard in government. This is a serious problem and I don't know what the answer is going to be, because the laws actually support the practice and when there is no incentive to create 'fair' districting then it won't ever happen.
We are at a point in history that I never thought possible. That any American would purposefully act to redistribute representation to create a super majority in congress. I thought that above all we are all Americans and Americans play fair and want things to be fair. Evidently, that is no longer the case. It is disturbing at the least and alarming.
It is going to take a Herculean effort to render this practice mute. Right now, it feels inevitable and that is both saddening and worrisome.