Once a decade voting districts are changed. The theory of redistricting is good. Based on census information, districts are drawn to reallocate seats in areas with the densest population. That’s not how it works in reality.
From this round of redistricting there are some disturbing trends. According to the New York Times, the number of competitive congressional districts is at the lowest level in thirty years. Redrawing district lines assures that congressional races are all but over before the general election. Fewer than 40 of the 435 seats are considered to be competitive based on 2020 election results. Fifteen years ago that number was 73 (which is still troubling).
This happens in both Republican and Democratic strongholds. It is, however, worth noting that Republicans control the mapmaking in twice as many districts as Democrats. Redistricting inevitably favors the prevailing political party. Cracking and packing are the two processes that end up favoring incumbent political parties. Cracking is when pockets of like-minded voters are separated by drawing new district lines. This dilutes their vote into several regions. Packing is when district lines are redrawn to concentrate like-minded voters into one region, thereby giving their vote increased clout.
While there is a Constitutional amendment against gerrymandering, the Supreme Court ruled in Rucho v. Common Cause that federal courts have no role to play in blocking partisan gerrymandering. It leaves it to the states to draw district lines. Some states leave redistricting to independent boards while other states use elected officials (talk about the fox guarding the hen house!). Since the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act, states that have a history of gerrymandering are not required to submit their redrawn voting district lines to Federal voting officials. Prior to this Pennsylvania had to re-draw its congressional maps 10 times before the 2018 elections. Texas had to redraw its lines every year since the Voting Rights Act. Now there is no federal supervision to redrawing district lines. State Courts and not the Supreme Court have more and more power over the redistricting process. It is grim.
All of this matters in a big way. Such gerrymandering decreases authentic competition in voting races and increases polarization between the political parties. This guarantees that some senate and representative seats will flip to the opposite party due to cracking and packing. The larger result is the political gridlock in which Washington is mired. If Republicans gain more seats in the House in the mid-term elections, we could see gridlock in both Houses. This makes it almost impossible for politicians to get anything done. The government has a hard enough time getting anything done as it is.
For example, Republicans blocked the Senate from considering a wide ranging women’s reproductive rights bill. This continues to happen even though a vast majority of Americans favor women’s reproductive rights. As the Supreme Court becomes more politicized there is a chance that Roe v. Wade will be completely gutted. Multiple states are waiting in the wings to follow Texas’ lead in limiting women’s reproductive rights.
It’s easy to see how something as seemingly benign as redistricting has far reaching political implications at the state and national level. As voices and votes are diluted or amplified, political accountability is diminished. The face of American politics and the democratic process is being eroded for at least the next ten years. There is a danger, however, that the polarizations created by redistricting will be self-perpetuating for all the reasons already noted.
As people of faith we are called to speak truth to power. It means we have to call our legislators to account when they do not represent us. It means we need to have a very long memory so we can speak to this process in ten years. The voice of faith has always been the minority report in public life. Still, we have an obligation to be that voice in the political process. It’s easy to think the government runs on auto-pilot, but in reality it runs on hidden political agendas, big money and gerrymandered voting districts.
We need to pay attention to our democracy or it will be no more.
The Irreverent Reverend 