An independent commission of citizens in California recently redrew districts for the state assembly, state senate and House of Representatives. This commission was formed following a law passed by the voters to take away the power of forming political districts from politicians. This ensured that there is no gerrymandering in order to keep as many incumbents in "safe" districts as possible. I think this is a good progress to get more centrists and less extremists into political office. After redistricting was announced, the magazine The Economists analyzed the result and find that more districts are going to be competitive in the next election in California. For example, for the 53 Congressional districts, 9 are now deemed competitive compared to 4 before. This does not sound like much but it is a step in the right direction. This is an idea that should be followed by other states.
Another thing we should consider is to get rid of the electoral college. States like Wyoming and Alaska should not get 3 electoral votes. This does not fit the idea of one man one vote democracy. Also the American citizens of D.C. and Puerto Rico are shut out of the process. It is time to amend the Constitution and get rid of the electoral college.
Saturday, July 02, 2011
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Interesting idea. I wonder if this strategy will work out or if, with the increased competition, will bring out more radical candidates.
ReplyDeleteI also wonder if it would work in other states, especially ones that are traditionally conservative or liberal.
Do you think the electoral college will ever get eliminated? It would take a major undertaking and I can't see it happening.
I agree with you though. Something in the election process needs to change. But as long as everyone accepts it for what it is, my guess is that nothing will change.
-LBOAYM
When they talk about the districts being competitive it means that the registration of Republicans and Democrats are almost equal. So for a candidate to win, he must get a good portion of the independent votes. This makes it more difficult for an extremist on either side to win. I think by having a nonpartisan commission to draw up districts is great for liberal and conservative states. In a conservative state like Texas, for example, the Republican legislature drew up such a crazy map of districts that they were sued. Texas won and so they got the most Republican representatives possible. In California, a liberal state, a Congressional district started with a Latino area in Ventura county, up Santa Barbara county but bypass some of the richest (and thus conservative) area, all the way up to St. Luis Obispo county. This district looks like a thinner version of Chile on the map. So now the Democrat incumbent will have to reach out to the independents with the new district drawn. The same with some Republican incumbents who were totally safe before.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it is extremely unlikely that the electoral college be abolished. If there was no movement after Al Gore losing despite having more popular votes, then nothing is going to happen. I just like to rant about this issue. Just don't get me started about the primary process!