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The Art of the Draw

 

            There are those of us in this country that want true change. A break in the system. Hell, an entirely new system. It was this thinking that elected President Obama, arguably one of the best Presidents our country has ever had. It also gave us Donald Trump. The worst President by a wide margin. Anytime Americans see change on the ballot, they go for it. We can all agree that we are tired of politics, tired of the games and tired of the political roadblocks by each side of the isle.

            The thing is, there is one thing that is keeping true change from happening and most Americans don’t even realize it’s a thing. I’m talking about Gerrymandering. The way we shape congressional districts is so skewed to one side that if you are not a Republican, it is next to impossible to win elections. Now I know that the other side is guilty of it too. But like most things, no one does quite like the Republicans do.

            What is Gerrymandering you may be asking. Let me break it down in the simplest and quickest way. This country is divided into diverse populations. Those populations are spread throughout towns, cities, etc. The people in charge draw districts in each state. Either Republican or Democrat lawmakers. Based on what district you live in, decides where you vote. So these lawmakers will draw the boundaries in such a way that they make sure that they end up with enough votes to stay in power.

            Are you in a heavily democratic area? Well, they’ll just end the district halfway through your county. Or just expand it to another heavily republican area to balance out the votes. Some argue this goes against the constitution. I am inclined to agree with them. The problem is, the Supreme Court cannot agree on a course forward. The easiest solution is to have an independent organization draw up congressional districts as evenly as possible. To shift the scales away from one side, to truly in the middle.

            This is how we get true change, with fair elections. Putting people in power who best represent our beliefs, not being voted in because your party has the best drawn districts in the state. There is hope with the incoming Democratic Government that we may see some real change when it comes to Gerrymandering. But I would hold off on that hope for now. Because regardless of what party you belong to, they both seek power and are usually not willing to part with it.

 

Wines, M. (2019, June 27). What Is Gerrymandering? And How Does it Work? Retrieved January 20, 2021, from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/27/us/what-is-gerrymandering.html

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