Governors' Races, Ballot Measures Have Decade-long Implications in Key States
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By RICK KLEIN
BALTIMORE, Oct. 17, 2010
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SpaceNewsvineRedditDeliciousMixxYahooLooming battles over the
re-drawing of congressional district lines are raising the stakes of
elections nation-wide, and are pushing party leaders to refocus
last-minute resources as they hope to win more control over the
once-a-decade redistricting process.
With roughly a third of states expected to either gain or lose a
member of Congress after this year's census, redistricting amounts to
a stealth issue in the 2010 elections -- one with long-lasting
consequences for party control of Congress. It's taken on an added
political dimension this time around, after the unusual mid-decade
redistricting in Texas ended the careers of five Democratic House
members in 2004.
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PriceWATCH: Democrats Get Tough on DefenseThe likely changes in
congressional representation are intensifying national attention on
gubernatorial and state legislative contests in states such as Texas,
Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania. The first two states are poised to be
big winners in the reapportionment of House districts, while the
latter two appear likely to lose seats.
Beyond that, ballot initiatives in several states -- most notably
California and Florida -- could have long-lasting implications on how
new voting districts are drawn in 2011 and beyond.
"It's really about power and who has it -- and the lengths that
they're willing to go to keep people from getting it," said Jeff
Reichert, a filmmaker who's out with a new documentary,
"Gerrymandering," that explores the politicization of the
redistricting process.
"Aside from outright fraud, this is the best way to control elections
that you can," Reichert said.
Gerrymandering is as old as the nation itself. Elbridge Gerry, who
would go on to become the nation's fifth vice president, gave the term
its name as governor of Massachusetts in 1812. Decades earlier,
Patrick Henry famously drew Virginia's congressional districts to
favor James Monroe over James Madison. (Madison won anyway.)
But the process has become hyper-politicized with the advent of
precise mapping software that allow lawmakers to draw districts
according to any specifications they wish, and as both parties learn
of the potential gains of carving safe seats.
Though Americans have rarely voiced such extreme disapproval of
Congress as they are this year, the result is not in question in some
two-thirds of House races -- largely because of the way their
districts are drawn.
Slate.com's list of the 20 most gerrymandered congressional districts
in the nation looks like a collection of splotches, serpents, and
coffee stains.
California's map leaves safe Democrats residing alongside even safer
Republicans.
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Republicans Assault Democrats on EconomyRep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill.,
represents a ribbon of the Chicago area connected primarily by
ethnicity. In Arizona, Republican Rep. Trent Franks' traverses the
Grand Canyon -- via a river. In Florida, the district of Democratic
Rep. Corrine Brown at one point travels along the route of a power
line.
After the 2000 census, Democrats who controlled the State House in
Maryland shook up a map that was helping send four Democrats and four
Republicans to Congress. They spread out Democrats among the
districts; now, the delegation has seven Democrats and only one
Republican.
The state's third congressional district is squeezed to the width of a
single block inside of Baltimore. Traversing the serpentine path of
the district of Rep. John Sarbanes', D-Md., would require swimming
through Baltimore Harbor.
The most famous recent example of politically minded district-drawing
came last decade in Texas. The Lone Star State had already created new
House districts after the 2000 Census, and 17 of the state's 32 House
members were Democrats.
But when Republicans took control of the state house, then-House
Majority Leader Tom DeLay saw an opportunity. Republicans rammed
through a new redistricting plan, blowing up the old map to instead
favor Republicans, even as Democratic lawmakers literally fled the
state in protest.
Continued here:
--
Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
Have a great day,
Tommy
--
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