09-28-2015, 01:24 PM
I don't agree with some big chunks of it ... but I do think it does make good points as well.
Elections:
Congressional Dysfunction
Elections:
Congressional Dysfunction
(09-28-2015 02:35 PM)Tom in Lazybrook Wrote: [ -> ]3) Redistricting must produce representation results within 10% of the last two election votes. In other words if the Dems get 40% of the votes for Congress, then at least 30% of the seats must be Dem majority.
(09-28-2015 02:47 PM)georgia_tech_swagger Wrote: [ -> ](09-28-2015 02:35 PM)Tom in Lazybrook Wrote: [ -> ]3) Redistricting must produce representation results within 10% of the last two election votes. In other words if the Dems get 40% of the votes for Congress, then at least 30% of the seats must be Dem majority.
This is not just impossible, but operating with that as a STATED goal is almost certainly highly illegal.
(09-28-2015 02:35 PM)Tom in Lazybrook Wrote: [ -> ]2) District borders must follow city/county lines and keep communities of interest whole whenever possible
(09-28-2015 03:02 PM)EigenEagle Wrote: [ -> ](09-28-2015 02:35 PM)Tom in Lazybrook Wrote: [ -> ]2) District borders must follow city/county lines and keep communities of interest whole whenever possible
Consider the number of red counties versus blue counties in the country.
Also, how you combine the more densely-populated counties with surrounding sparsely-populated ones could still make redistricting a contentious issue.
(09-28-2015 02:56 PM)Tom in Lazybrook Wrote: [ -> ](09-28-2015 02:47 PM)georgia_tech_swagger Wrote: [ -> ](09-28-2015 02:35 PM)Tom in Lazybrook Wrote: [ -> ]3) Redistricting must produce representation results within 10% of the last two election votes. In other words if the Dems get 40% of the votes for Congress, then at least 30% of the seats must be Dem majority.
This is not just impossible, but operating with that as a STATED goal is almost certainly highly illegal.
Ok..change it to 'at least 30% of the seats must have a Demo voting preference, based upon prior voting patterns.
(09-28-2015 02:35 PM)Tom in Lazybrook Wrote: [ -> ]2) District borders must follow city/county lines and keep communities of interest whole whenever possible
(09-28-2015 09:17 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote: [ -> ]Most, if not all, of the gerrymandering, at least in the south, is because of the Voting Rights Act. You must have essentially guaranteed minority districts. It takes a disproportionate number of democrat voters to create a safe minority district, leaving the rest of the state disproportionately republican.
Take a state with 10 congressional districts, and a 50-50 democrat-republican ratio. To create a safe minority district, and most of the really grotesque gerrymanders are the minority districts, the district has to be 80% democrat. So that's 8% of the statewide democrats and 2% of the statewide republicans. The rest of the state is now 9 districts, 48-42 republican. Off that split, 6 or 7 of those 9 districts will go republican. You end up with 6 or 7 republicans, 3 or 4 democrats, in a state that is 50-50.
(09-29-2015 10:55 AM)Tom in Lazybrook Wrote: [ -> ](09-28-2015 09:17 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote: [ -> ]Most, if not all, of the gerrymandering, at least in the south, is because of the Voting Rights Act. You must have essentially guaranteed minority districts. It takes a disproportionate number of democrat voters to create a safe minority district, leaving the rest of the state disproportionately republican.
Take a state with 10 congressional districts, and a 50-50 democrat-republican ratio. To create a safe minority district, and most of the really grotesque gerrymanders are the minority districts, the district has to be 80% democrat. So that's 8% of the statewide democrats and 2% of the statewide republicans. The rest of the state is now 9 districts, 48-42 republican. Off that split, 6 or 7 of those 9 districts will go republican. You end up with 6 or 7 republicans, 3 or 4 democrats, in a state that is 50-50.
Not in Texas. Here the gerrymandering is real. Look at Travis County, and Anglo Dem areas of Harris, Dallas, Tarrent, etc.
And they even gerrymander in Texas to reduce minority voting rights. 85% of Texas' population growth has been minority since 1990. Zero new Congressional seats are minority.
(09-29-2015 11:04 AM)bullet Wrote: [ -> ](09-29-2015 10:55 AM)Tom in Lazybrook Wrote: [ -> ](09-28-2015 09:17 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote: [ -> ]Most, if not all, of the gerrymandering, at least in the south, is because of the Voting Rights Act. You must have essentially guaranteed minority districts. It takes a disproportionate number of democrat voters to create a safe minority district, leaving the rest of the state disproportionately republican.
Take a state with 10 congressional districts, and a 50-50 democrat-republican ratio. To create a safe minority district, and most of the really grotesque gerrymanders are the minority districts, the district has to be 80% democrat. So that's 8% of the statewide democrats and 2% of the statewide republicans. The rest of the state is now 9 districts, 48-42 republican. Off that split, 6 or 7 of those 9 districts will go republican. You end up with 6 or 7 republicans, 3 or 4 democrats, in a state that is 50-50.
Not in Texas. Here the gerrymandering is real. Look at Travis County, and Anglo Dem areas of Harris, Dallas, Tarrent, etc.
And they even gerrymander in Texas to reduce minority voting rights. 85% of Texas' population growth has been minority since 1990. Zero new Congressional seats are minority.
Probably the worst gerrymander in history was the Democrats gerrymander in Texas in 1990. They had to triple the number of voting precincts in Harris County (Houston) from around 600 to around 1700 to accommodate it. Hearing Democrats whine about gerrymandering is just unbelievably hypocritical.
If the Democrats weren't so afraid of diversity and were willing to live around people who don't think like them instead of barricading themselves up in crowded cities, they might not get such a low % relative to their numbers. Democrats tend to pack themselves into small areas with lots of other Democrats.