Dem bill would require independent commissions to redraw congressional districts

[applegrove]

Dem bill would require independent commissions to redraw congressional districts

By Pete Kasperowicz at the Hill

http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/house/277607-dem-bill-would-require-independent-commissions-to-redraw-congressional-districts

"SNIP........................................


Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) and six other House Democrats have put forward legislation that would prevent state-level politicians from redrawing congressional districts. Instead, they would have be redrawn after each nationwide Census by an independent commission.

Cohen said his bill would help prevent the partisan redistricting of states, which many Democrats and Republicans have said creates districts that favor one party or another and allows hyper-partisan candidates to get elected.

"It's time to take politics out of the redistricting process," Cohen said. "Congress is so polarized today that we're unable to find common ground on the major issues facing our country.

"Instead of solving our nation's problems, Congress is just kicking the can down the road and waiting until the next election for answers. I believe that if we eliminate the gerrymandering of districts we will help get more accomplished for our country."


.........................................SNIP"

[elleng]

1. IF ONLY!!!

[PoliticAverse]

2. So this is just another bill going nowhere in the Republican-controlled house ? n/t

[freshwest]

3. I think a computer should do it, honestly. It could create true 'representatative districts' by

geography and not by party foibles. The fact that the Democrats won the House in 2012 and it was not decided that way is an insult to the millions who showed up to vote and if the GOP keeps rewriting things as they are doing in their attempts to twist the electoral college, we'll have an all-out oligarchy in most areas. Sick, and not what we need now. Landowners aren't more worthy to rule the rest of us.

[defacto7]

8. Using computers is an interesting idea

as far as the spirit of being unbiased is concerned. But in reality, computers could be even worse where corruption is concerned. The lines could be manipulated with less detection than just all out gerrymandering. I would be concerned if computers were the deciding factor.

We need to come up with a new system altogether that allows a reasonable and unambiguous method of balancing representation. I don't know what that is, but the methods used by the framers of the system can't be sacred to the point that we are caught in a rut that they never could envision. Because it worked for them does not mean that it is still applicable today. I think we need a new system, not find a way to force the old one to work.

[ReRe]

9. I agree with you, freshwest...

Let the computer do it all over again by geography and then leave it the Hell alone from then on.

[CreekDog]

12. computers and GIS have been doing it for years now

it's just *how* some of them have been doing it that is the problem.

[nilram]

14. ditto. computers, using open-source software that anyone can verify.

Well, anyone who can read computer code, but there's lots of folks on both sides of the aisle who could do that and determine that the computer is using only population and geography and that's it.

[socialindependocrat]

4. Rules for drawing district boundaries.

My brother-in-law used to work for the elections dept in Mass.

He said they have rules that dictate how the district boundaried are drawn.

I would imagine if the people don't follow the rules they get canned.

It seems to me that the term "gerrymandering" was coined to point out the practice of drawing boundaries to favor either part and was meant to give unfair advantage. Just to hear that the boundaries of some of the districts in the House are gerrymandered tells me that the ethics committee needs to get involved to correct the problem.

Doesn't anything get fixed in the stupid country without a damn petition being thruwn on someone's desk?

WTF do we pay these people for anyway?

[defacto7]

7. ^^ This ^^ n/t

[madamesilverspurs]

5. A good answer to "red-mapping."

Which is why they'll fight it tooth and nail.


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[colsohlibgal]

6. Getting This Done Would Be Huge

I'd love to hear the debate on this go really public, I'd love to hear the right try to defend gerrymandering.

Some of the district maps are unbelievable.

[Exen Trik]

10. If it could somehow come to pass

They should add a provision that it goes into effect immediately, redrawing all districts without waiting for the next census. 2020 is far too long to wait.

[silverweb]

11. Yes, yes, yes!

[font color="navy" face="Verdana"]ReTHUGs aren't about serving the people, or what's best for the country, or a representative democratic form of government.

ReTHUGs are about cheating to gain the advantage however they can, ethics be damned, and then forcing their will -- that of big business and the 1% -- on the rest of us.

Gerrymandering has to be made illegal and certain punishment must follow any tampering.

[Blue_In_AK]

13. We only have one congressman, so it wouldn't make much difference on a national level,

but our state district gerrymandering is in court. It was determined that the districts were illegally drawn before the election, but there supposedly wasn't enough time left to straighten it out before the Republicans managed to elect themselves a supermajority in our state legislature. Rat bastards...

[alittlelark]

15. KnR!

[Hekate]

16. I devoutly wish

That's a commission I would gladly volunteer for!

[murielm99]

17. Using computers does not take everything into account.

If things are done strictly by population, it could hurt minority districts. The voting rights laws have to be taken into consideration. Some minority districts could be written out of existence. We would have fewer black and Hispanic representatives in Congress representing minority neighborhoods and communities.

Your computer idea might work in states with smaller minority populations, states like Iowa. But it won't work everywhere.

[Auntie Bush]

18. Good. Every district should be a square or rectangle with a certain area and population.

[Posteritatis]

19. Requiring squares or rectangles would assume uniform population density. (nt)

[Posteritatis]

20. It's generally how it's done in Canada, at least at provincial and federal levels

Municipal districts still get gerrymandered, but municipal government's in an ambiguous place constitutionally hre anyway, so there's plenty of room for hilarity to unfortunately ensue there.

[klyon]

21. We need a voting rights bill that covers everything

from district size and dimensions to adequate machines for the volume of people.
people should have their rights spelled out clearly