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Gerrymandering, the manipulation of boundaries of an electoral constituency to favor one party over another, is widely criticized as anti-democratic. Who should draw boundaries of electoral districts in the states?

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barb
barb
4 years ago

all counties have border lines—Use them! all cities are already divided in sections

Arnie
Arnie
4 years ago

First, the idea of non-partisan redistricting commissions is a myth, or worse, a joke, because every commission is composed of people. All people have opinions, biases, and self interests. To be non-partisan it would have to be comprised of monkeys, parrots and porpoises; but then, that sounds like Congress, and Congress sure isn’t non-partisan.

Second, why is it some folks think using computers would be fairer? Computer algorithms are written by, (guess who?) people. And could be hacked by, (guess who?) people. And who runs most of Silicon Valley? …Democrats. Does that sound fair and balanced?

Thirdly, ranked choice voting is about streamlining primaries, not representation apportionment. It would still require setting up representative districts. So why is that even an answer for this question?

Regarding the fourth choice, America has a bicameral federal legislature, with one body having apportioned representation (House), and the other, equal representation (Senate). The former represents populations, and the latter, the state governments. The former is subject to the inevitable vagaries of political gerrymandering and the latter is not. The U. S. Senate has never and will never be gerrymandered. We are a republic, not a democracy.

Unfortunately, a lot of state legislatures don’t follow that formula, and although they may be bicameral, both houses are apportioned and get gerrymandered. The only differences between them are term length, number of members, and district boundaries.

State Senates, like the federal Senate, ought to have equal representation of the state’s local governments; one State Senator per county or parish. That would offset a lot of the gerrymandering concerns at the state level.

My state had equal county representation in the state senate at one time, but the Federal Courts overturned it and messed it up. I think they said it wasn’t democratic enough.

richard c blackburn
richard c blackburn
4 years ago

we are a republic, not a democracy. let’s stick to the principles of a republic.

Mark Johnson
Mark Johnson
4 years ago

Had to go with not sure because I don’t see a real answer here!

T Michael Saldaña
T Michael Saldaña
4 years ago

Don’t trust any Democrats or a RINO like Romney to deal honestly!

Roger Pyatt
Roger Pyatt
4 years ago

Regardless of which method is used, it should be done using county lines, natural boundaries, such as rivers, roads, etc.and leave them alone,unless you need to because of population changing above or below a certain threshhold. That way , we wouldn’t be going through this every 10 years. And yes, we would need to change the constitution to take away needing each representative to have the same or close to the same # of constituants. What difference does it make whether a rep has 140,000 or 100,000 to represent. Families move around all the time, either instate or from one state to another. Seems like this would be a lot smarter and more common sense than the way we do it now.

Tom M
Tom M
4 years ago

Doesn’t matter much any more as the politicians are only for themselves. We flip flop between parties and all we get are more laws, rules and regulations and less freedom.

Laurie Marrocco
Laurie Marrocco
4 years ago

There is no such thing as NON PARTISAN!

Laurie Marrocco
Laurie Marrocco
4 years ago

Stop voting for democrats and socialists. There’s no such thing as democrat socialists! We are and must always be a Constitutional Republic! We are great BECAUSE of the Fair Electoral College. We are a country of unique states! Stop trying to change what’s worked for over 230 years and why everyone wants to come here. Trump 2020

TomB
TomB
4 years ago

A non-partisan commission? There’s no such thing in our government anymore. Consider agencies, where bias is considered a four letter word and non-partisan is their sworn duty .. FBI, IRS, and especially the DOJ have proven that, guess what …. they are very partisan and biased. Consider the actions of these departments over the last 3-4 years. They’ve ignored our laws and created a two-tier legal system. Our voting “process” has slowly been adjusted to favor fraud, absentee ballots handed out to anyone, “Election Day” can last for over a month, and ballot counting has become a career field with its manufactured complexity. So, non-partisan … ain’t no way.

Richard Smith
Richard Smith
4 years ago

Democrats are controlled by COMMUNEST and totally clueless to what America wants! They sold their souls to SATAN a long time ago!

George R Payne
George R Payne
4 years ago

Eliminate congressional districts and let all voters in all states vote for all the congressional representatives.

Roger Fenton
Roger Fenton
4 years ago

“A non-partisan, independent commission should draw electoral districts as is done in six states.” Unfortunately, there is NO such thing.

William
William
4 years ago

I agree with Arnie!

Dennis
Dennis
4 years ago

The deep state is so deep I don’t think there is such a thing as a non-partisan group. It will always end up being changed to favor the Left Wing Progressives. What is wrong with simple precincts based on voter concentrations around a given area?

W. P. Cunningham
W. P. Cunningham
4 years ago

I think the Iowa Democrats proved just how reliable algorithms can be!

Ruppert Baird
Ruppert Baird
4 years ago

I voted ‘Not Sure’ because I didn’t see the most logical answer. All of those answers contribute to the complexity of the system and help to build bureaucracy that is totally unneeded. Districts are pretty archaic too, based in the concept of ‘one-day’s wagon ride to the polls, snail mail, and newspapers being the leading technology of information.

The simplest answer is to vote statewide – one vote per voter – and award seats to the top vote-getters. (i.e. If a state has 17 representatives to the House of representatives, and 38 candidates vie for those seats, the 17 top vote-getters take those seats.) The candidate receiving the most votes becomes the senior member of the state’s delegation. It’s quite simple, really, and eliminates the Courts’ interference in the electoral process. Also, the complicated ‘ranked choice’ system is unnecessary with this. It’s a win-win for everyone.

Patriot
Patriot
4 years ago

It’s obvious obozo created districts with refugees to elect representatives in Congress.
Example, Omar the terrorist representative and quite a few more.

Vera
Vera
4 years ago

I voted undecided because like most of the comments here, there is no bi-partisan-ism here any more. It is getting ugly folks! And the “silent majority” need to make more noise. But then, we don’t want to look like the Dems out there.

Bob L.
Bob L.
4 years ago

Manipulation of district boundaries isn’t anti-democratic, it was instituted by a Democrat majority Congress decades ago for the benefit of Democrats.
Drawing district boundaries is a 10th Amendment issue making it the States responsibility, not the federal governments.
Districts should be drawn representing equal number for LEGAL residents within each district, not by any other factor.
Race has been the tool used for voter manipulation in racially drawn districts since it was instituted.

John Karkalis
John Karkalis
4 years ago

If old Elbridge Gerry could see us arguing over this, 206 years after his death, he would be having one h-ll of a good old fashioned belly laugh from wherever he now resides.
The late governor had a wicked sense of humor.
The man on our 20 dollar bill might respond, and I concur, “To the victor go the spoils”.
It’s good that perceptive responders remind us we live in a republic not a democracy.

Shan
Shan
4 years ago

First, there is no such thing as bi-partisan or neutral people. Everyone has an opinion and bias. Second, computers are very easy to manipulate and most of the tech world is partisan to the left. Third, most of the districts to be redrawn are going to be manipulated by the illegal alien population due to the census not being able to ascertain if they are citizens and Illegals should not be counted. The government represents the citizens of the USA. The only reason they are doing the census this way is to get more representation and money for their state. If they want to be a sanctuary state/city then they pay for it not the rest of the country. So the only answer left is it to be divided as usual. There is no other possible way to do it.

Phil B
Phil B
4 years ago

The computer algorithm sounds like a good idea, however, a human has to write the code. This is my concern about the upcoming election, that the leftist tech companies and their “progressive” employees may have tampered with the back end tabulation. Stealing an election is something the left would have no qualms about doing.

Steve
Steve
4 years ago

Just do it by COUNTY and forget all this false district stuff

Richard
Richard
4 years ago

Sorry, peoples, non-partisan (they never are, unless members/candidates are lying to themselves) independent (they never are, unless they are lying to you) never work. Never. Representative government is never pretty. Never. Get over it.

Callie Brunelli
Callie Brunelli
4 years ago

I think all districts should be according to county lines first, then collected by population into groups and each group has to be related counties, not some meandering line with no reason except politics!! That way city areas with large population would have a say but so would rural areas that have similar problems and the representatives would be required to think of their actual constituents rather than their own politics !

Allen
Allen
4 years ago

There is never a true “ independent commission.” That’s a joke. Never leave it to a “ machine” either. Leave it “ as is” and we go from there….

Philip Hammersley
Philip Hammersley
4 years ago

There can be no “independent” group unless all of the members are totally ignorant of all facts. Each person brings his own ideas and beliefs to the table. One thing that could be mandated is that all districts be compact. That was the problem with the original Elbridge Gerry map. The district looked like a salamander; thus the term “gerrymander.”

Melinda
Melinda
4 years ago

I agree there is no perfect choice, because of human nature. Very few people look at anything without bias. Even judges aren’t fair!

Orlando
Orlando
4 years ago

I have an idea. Use the longitudinal and latitude lines as the boundries.

Daniel Stearns
Daniel Stearns
4 years ago

I would much prefer a system using the counties with the boundaries never being moved.

Robert
Robert
4 years ago

Today a non partisan independent commission would be virtually impossible to assemble. Its naive to think otherwise…

F.W. KLOCK
F.W. KLOCK
4 years ago

A NON-PARTISAN COMMISSION IS AN IMPOSSIBILITY. NO ONE IS “NON-PARTISAN”. OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS HAVE THE RESPONSIBILITY TO FAIRLY AND HONESTLY REPRESENT US.
IF THEY FAIL IN THAT RESPONSIBILITY, THEY WILL HEAR FROM THE VOTERS AT THE NEXT ELECTION.
A “COMMISSION” HAS NO SUCH RESPONSIBILITY AND IS NOT ANSWERABLE TO ANYONE! WHO WOULD FAVOR SUCH A METHOD OF DRAWING THE DISTRICT LINES?

Levoy Hemphill
Levoy Hemphill
4 years ago

As long as the choice is my Republican controlled legislator like it is now, it needs to stay the same

Faith Rose
Faith Rose
4 years ago

The trouble is that I don’t think it is possible to acheive a non-partison decision and computer algorithms can be manipulated and hacked. I guess I should have said leave it as is, even though there are those who try to rig the system for the left there too.

Lucy Czerniak Gonzalez
Lucy Czerniak Gonzalez
4 years ago

First and most important of all is the implementation of a personal citizenship ID Card voting card attached to your passport or social security number with our photo and fingerprints. And please, I don’t want to hear that aliens-legal or illegals- have social security numbers, drivers licenses or any form of American citizen valid ID cards. NOT unless they have sworn to respect , protect and live by our laws and values.

F.W. KLOCK
F.W. KLOCK
4 years ago

INTERESTINGLY, IT SEEMS THAT MANY WHO POSTED HERE ARE UNDER THE MISAPPREHENSION THAT CONGRESS DRAWS DISTRICT LINES. THE RE-DRAWING OF LINES EVERY DECADE IS A RESPONSIBILITY OF STATE LEGISLATURES. SINCE WE ARE CONSTITUTIONALLY ORGANIZED AS A FEDERAL REPUBLIC, THAT DUTY LIES WITH THE INDIVIDUAL STATES.

Jerry Pembleton
Jerry Pembleton
4 years ago

I do not really understand this, but anything Eric Holder and George Soros are involved with, I do not want anything to do with.

Jack
Jack
4 years ago

There is no such thing as non-partisan, independent commission. It would be an invitation to deeper corruption. Whose going to write the algorithms? Ranked choice would also require a whole new system of rules and regulations subject to manipulation. Making sausage is ugly enough as it is, let’s not throw in roadkill.

mytake
mytake
4 years ago

How can you trust that any so-called independent non-partisan is really that? I am doubtful it is possible.

Leigh Phelps
Leigh Phelps
4 years ago

This has happened to the northwest quadrant of my city where they have sectioned us out of a majority Republican city at one time and we are now under Bobby Scott, an incumbent who runs unopposed every election because of how the lines have been gerrymandered to benefit him. I don’t vote when his time for re-election comes around because there’s no one else opposing him. I don’t consider him my representative because he doesn’t represent anything I stand for. Randy Forbes was my representative before the gerrymandering and he cared for the people of his district. He had a website where he communicated the issues to the people and asked for their opinion and input. Not Bobby Scott. Every bill introduced that Randy Forbes voted for Bobby Scott voted just the opposite. I’ve sent emails to Bobby Scott asking questions about issues and have never received a reply. I personally do not care for the line of questioning offered here. If there is the human factor involved there’s always going to be bias. I’m for natural boundaries i.e. city lines county lines, waterways etc..

J GRAHAM
J GRAHAM
4 years ago

I have to agree with Arnie! Some of the choices” sound good, in theory, but there is no way anything is non-partisan anymore! Therefore, I didn’t respond to the question.

Tim
Tim
4 years ago

IF there is going to be “non-patisan independent commissions” to draw the lines, I want to be on the commission. If I can’t be on the commission, I prefer the current system of representatives drawing the lines, not judges or anybody else.

Tim
Tim
4 years ago

Colorado not long ago had a balanced of power in each state house. When the influx of Californians began they did redistricting. The very next election the state went solid blue now mimicking our laws after what California does.
Not sure if this was from gerrymandering, or from Californians who fled a mess caused by voting for democrats and did the same here, or BOTH.

Big Jake
Big Jake
4 years ago

Get rid of all districts. Lines have already been established in every state, they are called counties (parishes in Louisiana). Each county gets one electoral vote based on the popular vote of the county.

Rose Edwards
Rose Edwards
4 years ago

Even a computer generated algorithm is produced by a human with prejudices. So just stick with the one and deal with the flaws. All can be manipulated. Whiners will always be whiners whether they win or lose. It is never their fault.

dino deplorable
dino deplorable
4 years ago

I don’t know a good way to do this,but something has to be done along with term limits especially in Illinois,a state where Chicago controls EVERYTHING.

Btophek
Btophek
4 years ago

I agree with Arnie, I live in Wisconsin, we supposedly have a non-partisan election commission; revamped by the previous Walker admission. It consists of 3 Democrats and 3 Republicans. Nobody on the committee can agree with anything. The Democrats push their bias around on the Republicans on the committee. They whine and cry when they don’t get their way. The committee is still biased and still unfair. As a side note, have you ever noticed what fairness is to a Democrat? It’s when they win and the Republicans lose.

Bernard Broderick
Bernard Broderick
4 years ago

Arnie

Well said. The current system allows for state legislatures to apportion with judicial oversight when apportionment is abused. It is messy and time consuming but it works.

Somewhere along the historical continuum somebody forgot the concept of federalism and the 10th amendment. The states delegated certain rights to the federal government and kept all of the others in the people and each state. Keep the feds out of it. If there is to be a change let each state determine its own system as long as it’s representation is proportional.

Francis LaSenna
Francis LaSenna
4 years ago

None of these choices are effective. The country is made up of states which are already divided into counties with defined borders. Problem solved! (Too obvious!)

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