Gerrymandering, or the Congressional reorganizing of districts to serve partisan interests and guarantee seats in the House of Representatives. This is typically done every 10 years, following the results of the U.S. Census. Although it is a necessary process due to constantly shifting demographics, political interests on both sides of the partisan divide can use this to further their own causes.
Gerrymandering has been a persistent problem since the founding of the United States. Ever since Anti-Federalists pushed James Madison into a seat with James Monroe in the hopes of keeping him out of Congress, political partisans have tried to manipulate Congressional boundaries to serve their own interests. There is some reassurance in knowing that this issue is not new, but it doesn’t make gerrymandering any less of a pressing issue in the current election.
As explained by a New America report published by Lee Drutman, the practice of gerrymandering “…has been least controversial during periods of low partisan polarization, and when both parties enjoyed broader geographic appeal”. In our current political climate, which is driven by extreme levels of polarization and high stakes, gerrymandering is a particularly controversial topic.
What can citizens of Bloomsburg do to advocate for their own causes if the makeup of their Congressional district is outside of their control? Nick McGaw, three-year member of Bloomsburg Town Council who is currently the Clinton County’s Democratic nominee for PA House of Representatives, says that the county is doing better than average, but the situation is still disheartening for any Democratic nominees.
However, McGaw also explains the goal of any candidate should be to ensure voting on a local level. “People around here want to see [politicians] focused on their actual problems.” While the concept of gerrymandering is confusing and difficult to define, the key to gaining support is reaching out to the community, listening to their actual problems, and influencing the hearts and minds of individuals who are personally submitting a vote.
But if Bloomsburg is guaranteed to vote Republican anyway, why should Democrats even bother to show up to the polls in the first place? The answer is embedded in the heart of McGaw’s campaign – which is that no one should run unopposed. What happens in districts that are guaranteed to run one way or another, according to McGaw, is that the opposing party’s politician doesn’t bother campaigning in that district, expecting to lose. If Clinton County Democrats showed up to the polls in sizable numbers, even if they don’t win the vote, they show political campaigns that their votes are worth competing for.
While the town of Bloomsburg and Bloomsburg Campus skew blue, the surrounding rural areas often categorize themselves as Republicans. While they are likely to win in the upcoming election, McGaw encourages college students to register and vote, explaining that the student population is large enough to have an impact, “that could swing the vote.”
On an institutional level, are there any changes that the United States can make to reduce the impact of gerrymandering? While there’s very little we can do on an individual level, larger systemic changes could minimize the impact of gerrymandering. For example, outsourcing the process of redistricting to independent committees could take power right out of partisan interests.
Drutman’s New America report discusses the concept of using bipartisan independent commissions to draw district lines every ten years, rather than relying on state legislatures. The general consensus is that while that option doesn’t entirely eliminate partisan gerrymandering, it does create a more neutral map as opposed to the alternative.
While McGaw acknowledges the potential of independent commissioning, he does point out that redistricting issues often ultimately go before the court anyway. The best thing individuals can do, according to McGaw, is to keep focused on the impact we can have on our community. “The truth about politics is that nobody really knows [how things will turn out]”, says McGaw. While issues such as gerrymandering may make the future election seem set in stone, exercising our political voice may shake up the results and weaken the impact of partisan districting.