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As the Supreme Court hears arguments on the case of Gill v. Whitford, their decision this spring will have an impact on potential gerrymanders based on the upcoming 2020 census. Instead of debating the technicalities of what are or aren't fair lines for a district, what if states erased district lines and made U.S. representatives accountable to states instead of districts? States have tried this in the past and the Constitution says nothing about using single member election districts or how those lines should be drawn.
Discussion Questions
1. Is it time to consider changes in how we elect our representatives to make outcomes more representative of the wishes of the people?
2. Are we better off just waiting for the outcome of Gill v. Whitford and working to contain gerrymandering in the future rather than shifting the single member district system?
3. As new voters who have learned about the electoral process last semester, how do you propose it be improved in the future?
1 comment:
I don't really like the idea of a single election district for the entire state. Although gerrymandering might never be able to be completely eliminated under the current district system, I think it can be minimized through the use of independent commissions and computer programs. Districts are great for getting people whose interests otherwise would not be supported by the entire state, like a minority representative from a predominantly African American district would never be able to be elected by the whole state of Alabama, but could be elected to represent that individual district.
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