Don’t say that it will never happen.
But 207 years later and counting, it hasn’t and there’s no reason to think it will for another 207 years.
At least that is if the U.S. Supreme Court’s latest ruling on partisan gerrymandering is any indication.
Thursday, the high court ruled in a 5-4 decision that federal district judges do not have the ability to curb redrawing political maps to entrench one party.
Ironically, the decision is nonpartisan in that it sanctions the political shenanigans of Democrats in Maryland and Republicans in North Carolina.
Gerrymandering, which dates back to 1812, though nothing new, has become a growing trend and far more sophisticated and exact.
To say the powers that be have it down to a science would be an understatement. In this age of intense data and technology that can gauge political inclinations of districts house by house, little to nothing is left to chance. With the use of precision computer modeling district boundaries are drawn to maximize the clout of one party’s voters while diluting the other’s strength.
The boundaries of legislative districts are redrawn to reflect population changes in the census — a head count mandated by the Constitution — every decade. Using this data for more even population distribution when redrawing districts is the idea.
But that’s hardly what motivates lawmakers. Instead, by and large, partisan politics, define how redistricting is done.
Our position on redistricting is simple: Take the politics out of it as much as possible to ensure fair elections.
Gerrymandered districts undermine participatory democracy by designing districts where competition is a moot point. And that creates conditions for partisan extremes that contribute to polarization and water down the voting power for some.
We have consistently supported legislation in our state to remove this power from the party in power and assign it to an independent commission.
The Supreme Court has ruled against gerrymandering intended to diminish the strength of racial minorities in modern times, but has never hindered gerrymandering for political advantage.
As a result, this attitude of letting things take their own course, without interfering, has warped democracy in many instances. Political leanings have always defined our nation, but today’s hyper-partisan politics have created an almost aberrant democracy.
And the cause of much of that aberration — the deadlock and political hostility — appears to be gerrymandering.
It’s easy to resign ourselves to the status quo — gridlock and even greater polarization — that will follow the 2020 Census.
One of our Founding Fathers may have said it best: “Real liberty is neither found in despotism or the extremes of democracy, but in moderate governments.”
We might add moderate redistricting, too.
