Rigging the Game

8/6/25

The headlines are all about how congressional districts are drawn. Gerrymandering is named after a Massachusetts politician who was the first to use district drawing to favor his political party. Gerry (hard “G” by the way), was combined with “salamander” for the shape of a district that was drawn. Cue the current Illinois Congressional district map.

The battle for supremacy in US politics is in the state houses. This is where the power to affect outcomes is most pronounced. That is, without Congressional districts that can be won and controlled, there can be no federal power. The partisan drawn districts determine who controls Congress.

It’s been over a century since Gerry’s first 1812 “gerrymandering” and it has only led to more of it. The result is the current morass separating Americans. The political divide is most evident in the way we assemble Congress. With districts that do not reflect a mix of political views, each party has “locked” in safe seats throughout the country. Representatives no longer have to run campaigns building large war chests  that further their insulation from competition. They can ignore constituents who do not hold their party’s orthodoxy and worse, they reflect the loudest of those within their district even if not that of the majority.

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 poured gas on the issue of Congressional districts. It requires there to be carved out “minority” districts. As is/was the case with affirmative action, combating discrimination with more discrimination doesn’t work. It is high time for any and all references to anyone other than an individual to be purged as has been done with college entrants. It is long overdue for congressional districts to be drawn not on the color of the residents but on those attributes that are germane to governance. The criteria should be, the number of citizens, those who are eligible to vote, and smallest physical size and geometrically sound shape. There is sufficient data and mapping software available to achieve a much more logical outcome.

The registered party of the citizen is immaterial in this scheme. Removing party labels is critically important to begin the process of knitting back the fabric of our society. Representatives should no longer be able to hide out in the shadow of one or the other party. They will more likely have to move to positions that have appeal to the majority of their constituents who now reflect a more diverse mindset. That is, the center with minority extremes no longer holding sway over the majority. My suggestion.

Step 1 – Repeal the Voting Rights Act of requiring minority districts

Step 2 – Collect data on the number of citizens and where they reside (Census upgrade)

Step 3 – Create and apply universal mapping software that utilizes citizens data with geo mapping to create compact physical areas for representation.