Rigged Legislative Districts Keep Voters Away
Incumbents rule the roost in this country. Every ten years, state legislatures get to map out their own Congressional districts. And these maps are carefully drawn to maintain the status quo. The people in charge want to stay in charge and this is how it’s done. The practice is also known as gerrymandering, but by any name it’s a lousy deal for voters.
In the 2004 election in California, not one seat in the state legislature changed hands. Every district represented by a Democrat before the election is still represented by a Democrat now, and every district with a Republican representative prior to 2004 still has a Republican representative today. True competition does not exist in California politics.
In other states, one party with a clear majority sometimes draws the electoral map so that they can pick up a few more seats. The goal is never to make races more competitive or voting districts more diverse. It’s all about winning and staying in power. And the voters always lose. Why vote when you already know the outcome of every race? Congressional districts should be drawn along county lines.
When Congressional representatives realize that they have a lifetime appointment, they start spending all their time with to a few wealthy friends. The cronies then fly friendly lawmakers around on private jets, and the legislators reciprocate by making sure their compadres don’t have to deal with pesky regulations.
This country has a tradition of one person, one vote and majority rule. But we’re becoming more and more like a banana republic, where all the decisions are made by a hundred families. Allowing lawmakers to draw their own Congressional districts as they see fit is largely to blame for this political imbalance.
Congressional districts, Democrats, Republicans, political campaigns, gerrymandering, corruption, voter apathy
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