Letter: It’s Time to End Gerrymandering

Dear Editor,

If this past election has taught us anything, it’s that each of our votes truly matters and must be counted. To make sure that a fair election process happens every time, we must have fair electoral maps and end the practice of gerrymandering.

We all need to play an active role in how our political maps are drawn during the upcoming redistricting process.

Redistricting is the process of redrawing our districts to reflect the change in our population recorded by the Census, which occurs every 10 years.

Gerrymandering happens when politicians manipulate this process in order to draw electoral maps that ensure their party wins more districts which are out of proportion to the actual percentage of the population.

Gerrymandering changes the value and weight of every vote.

It’s unfair and it’s cheating—no matter which party tries it.

Our political system is broken and politicians are making it worse by using gerrymandering to ensure they get re-elected. Gerrymandering contributes to hyper-partisanship in our politics and allows politicians to pander to special interests, but ignore the people they represent.

Next year is important because we the people can call and lobby our elected officials as they draw maps. We can demand and attend hearings. We can make it known that it’s time to end gerrymandering. I’m asking my neighbors to join me and push for fair maps.

Sincerely,

ISRA AHMAD

San Jose

10 Comments

  1. I couldn’t agree more.
    We should be using a software program that would divide the state into compact areas of equal population that have the shortest possible total border length. No human input. None.

  2. > Our political system is broken and politicians are making it worse by using gerrymandering to ensure they get re-elected. Gerrymandering contributes to hyper-partisanship in our politics and allows politicians to pander to special interests, but ignore the people they represent.

    FACT CHECK: True.

    Isra is correct.

    Ending gerrymandering would be an important reform.

    But there is MUCH, MUCH more to be done to make California a functioning pluralist society founded on rule of law.

    I’m not sure, but I suspect that the insiders have arranged that undoing gerrymandering would be very, very difficult. It would probably require a vote of the people to pass a constitutional amendment, a very high hurdle.

  3. Here’s why there will NOT be any gerrymandering reform in California:

    California State Senate:

    Democrats 29
    Republicans 11

    California State Assembly

    Democrats 63
    Republicans 17

    If gerrymandering were ended, a LOT of Democrat incumbents would lose their seats.

    NOT GONNA HAPPEN!

  4. > If you want examples of improvement in forming districts, here:

    Read my lips:

    IT’S NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN!

    The PERMANENT Democrat majority doesn’t want it to happen.

    No hope, no change.

  5. Are none of you aware of the Citizens Redistricting Commission? One of the qualifications is not being involved in politics – no staffers, no party delegates, etc – so it’s as close as can be to an impartial commission drawing the district lines.

    Ironically enough, it seems to be the reason California has a Democratic supermajority.

    Gerrymandering is a scourge on our system. It’s been addressed in California.

    Which you might know, if you weren’t so invested in trashing “politicians.”

  6. > Ironically enough, it seems to be the reason California has a Democratic supermajority.

    HA HA HA HA!

    I love this self-serving logic.

    So, we have a “Democratic supermajority” now.

    Doesn’t that PROVE that we don’t have gerrymandering and, therefore, we don’t need a ” Citizens Redistricting Commission”?

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