Elbridge Gerry would be proud. No other governor in Massachusetts history has had a more profound impact on the American electoral process than this 19th politician. Gerry is most famous for his role in redrawing the congressional districts in his home state, enabling his party to secure victory. The practice quickly became known as gerrymandering and hasn’t fallen out of favor with today’s equally unscrupulous politicians. Recently, the Supreme Court announced that it would address the issue of gerrymandering insofar as it relates to a redistricting map in the state of Texas. This time, the maps were drawn by Republicans. The GOP, however, is not alone in this practice as Democrats have attempted to use the power of redistricting to enhance their political power as well.

The problem of gerrymandering extends from the fact that the process is entrusted in the hands of politicians, which is no more reliable than the proverbial fox guarding the hen house. Indeed, since each of us have some measure of political bias we are all inclined to fudge if given the opportunity. The solution to gerrymandering, however, is quite simple. An independent commission in each state should oversee the process. A commission whose sole purpose it is to redraw congressional, legislative and other political maps. This commission should be forbidden from using any information other than population statistics. Voting patterns, income level, education level, home valuations, race and ethnicity, etc should not be used in the redistricting process, thereby ensuring an unbiased and largely objective map. Better still the process could be accomplished in a matter of seconds by feeding the applicable data into an aptly designed computer-mapping program.

Sadly such a solution will not even enter the mindsets of the Supreme Court as they evaluate the Texas case, in fact none of the parties involved would favor such a move as it would deny them the opportunity to manipulate the electoral process further still. Throughout history politicians in this country since Elbridge Gerry have used this gerrymandering process to silence their rivals or to oppress certain groups. In this latest case the Democrats charge that the Texas map denies them equal and fair treatment. The constitution, however, doesn’t recognize political parties as a distinct group, whose rights must be protected. Indeed, such affiliation shouldn’t even be considered in the redistricting process. In fact such information should not be recorded in the first place. Citizens should not be required to register with a party in order to vote, much note have that participation measured and counted for use by crafty politicians to shape their shadowy agendas. While detailed census information is valuable, the law should expressly forbid such data from being used for political expedience.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/1219/p08s02-comv.html