Democrats Should Not Delay Redistricting Reform

From The Washington Post

“The Maryland legislature has a chance to put an initiative on the ballot this fall to create a citizens redistricting commission, and we encourage it to do so before the 2016 legislative session ends Monday.”

The Washington Post
Ellen Tauscher & John Tanner
April 7, 2016

“Congress has grown more polarized and paralyzed partly because of partisan redistricting in key states around the country. Gerrymandering by Democratic and Republican legislatures has made most congressional districts so red or blue that the campaigns are won or lost in the primaries. As a result, general elections have become irrelevant in all but a few dozen of the 435 House races. Members of Congress are accountable only to the partisan bases of their parties. The framers of the Constitution would be shocked that so few of those in the ‘People’s House’ are at risk in general elections.

“The answer is to take the redistricting process out of the hands of state legislatures and governors and put it in the hands of nonpartisan citizens redistricting commissions.

“The Maryland legislature has a chance to put an initiative on the ballot this fall to create a citizens redistricting commission, and we encourage it to do so before the 2016 legislative session ends Monday. …

“Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) proposed a citizens redistricting commission. Unfortunately, the Democratic-controlled legislature has shown no enthusiasm for the measure.

“The Democratic leadership of the legislature has concerns about disarming in the redistricting wars. Some have suggested that they would be willing to put a citizens redistricting commission on the ballot if a Republican-dominated state, such as Virginia, did so. After all, they argue, that would only be fair.

“But what is fair to the American people about the current situation? As Republican legislatures have done, Maryland’s Democrats drew some of the most gerrymandered districts in the country. Manipulating the process for partisan reasons is not fair to voters, no matter which side does it.

“Although we understand the partisan concerns of our fellow Democrats, Congress and state legislatures will function better when the lines are drawn fairly, enabling the election of less partisan representatives who can work together to get things done for their constituents. ...

“As Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote in a ruling last summer affirming the role of citizens through ballot initiatives to take line-drawing from state legislatures and governors and give it to nonpartisan redistricting commissions, ‘voters should choose their representatives, not the other way around.’ …

“Our bipartisan organization, YouDrawTheLines2021, is dedicated to supporting ballot initiatives to establish nonpartisan citizens redistricting commissions. We urge our fellow Democrats in the Maryland legislature to do the right thing and let voters decide who should draw the lines in 2021.”