Are you sick of partisan politics and political gridlock? Do you wish the Pennsylvania state legislature could ever pass a budget without a last-minute fire drill? Then you should care a lot about gerrymandering.
For those of you who have forgotten 9th-grade Civics, gerrymandering in the practice of drawing district lines for state and federal legislatures such that incumbents and protected and/or that one party or another is heavily favored in each district.
Click HERE for an example of what a congressional district looks like when the state legislature is allowed to run amok designing districts to protect the party currently in power. Does that look fair to you? Does it even look logical?
Gerrymandered districts are designed to be “safe” for either a Democrat or a Republican. This practice drives partisanship because the incumbent almost never has to worry about a challenge in the general election. They only have to worry about a primary challenge. In the primaries, the challenger in a safe Republican district will almost always be to the right of the incumbent. In a safe Democratic district, the challenger will almost always be the left. To protect themselves against extremist primary challenges, the incumbents move towards the extremes themselves. It can be political death to reach across the aisle and cooperate with the other party.
Result: gridlock, including constant threats of governments shutdowns at both the state and federal levels.
Further result: Communities who used to have a representative who had their best interests are heart are now split, so that nobody in Harrisburg is really looking out for them. Do you live in Ross Township, PA? You used to have a legislator in the State House who represented the interests of your community. Now Ross is divided among 4 different legislative districts. Do you think that was done in your best interests?
“Your” representatives in gerrymandered districts actually have no incentive at all to serve you. Their seats are safe as long as they please the party leadership and the big donors.
Result: government by power elites, not by the people.
Further result: trust in our form of government erodes.
71% of Americans – across the political spectrum – agree that gerrymandering should be against the law. And the Pennsylvania Supreme Court agrees. Early this year, they threw out the 2011 map and put a new, fairer one in place. But guess what? Without reform, in 2021 the legislators will be free to gerrymander again. And there will be another lawsuit.
Result: Your tax dollars and mine are spent defending against lawsuits that should never have to be filed in the first place.
Fair Districts PA is working to change Pennsylvania from one of the worst gerrymandered states to a model of fairness. Today state and federal districts are designed by the party in power in Harrisburg. Even the minority party isn’t blameless. They usually go along with the map designed by the majority party as long as it also protects a few of their favored incumbents. Fair Districts PA is working to replace that self-serving system with a citizens’ commission.
Please write to your state representative and senator NOW and demand that fair districting bills be brought to the floor for a vote. Find the name of your representative and your senator HERE. And write a letter to the editor. Fair Districts PA provides resources for letter-writing, more information about the proposed citizens commission, and other information on their website.
If you care about democracy, you should care about gerrymandering. Join our fight now!