Opinion
by Russ Araujo, HUUC member
I have read that James Madison knew of the problem of gerrymandering, though people didn’t use that term in the 1700s. The problem is that those in power tend to draw electoral districts that favor keeping themselves in power. Madison just didn’t know of any principle that could be applied to fix the problem.
The problem is a nonpartisan one, since over the years there have been instances of district gerrymandering regardless of what party is in power.
This season, with Ohio Issue 1 on the ballot, we get a chance to vote on a principle that could fix the problem. The principle is that citizens who are not politicians or party operatives should draw the boundaries of district maps. Included in Issue 1 are some specified criteria that the resulting maps should meet.
Now the Ohio Ballot Board, chaired by the Ohio Secretary of State, a member of the party in power, has written a summary of Issue 1. As things stand now, that summary will appear on the ballot and is likely to influence some voters. Among other things, this summary says that Issue 1 requires gerrymandering.
This claim is made by using a peculiar definition of the term “gerrymandering.” According to the party in power, “gerrymandering” means any consideration of possible map results by party, even if that consideration is to try to make sure the maps are fair.
There are at least three things that keep our representative democracy from being fairer: the outsized influence of big money, the Electoral College, and gerrymandering. With regard to big money, I, like Madison, do not know of any principle that could be applied uniformly to deal with the issue. With regard to the Electoral College, eliminating it would probably be a good idea, though I am worried about unintended consequences; eliminating it is not available to us in the near term. With regard to gerrymandering, we do have a solution in front of us, right now, that we can act upon.
If you want our democracy to be fairer, you can do it by voting Yes on Issue 1.
Image source: https://huuc.net/prohibiting-punitive-acts/