Democrat & Chronicle: Editorials
    An independent panel is needed to redraw districts’ lines

    (July 3, 2006) — Most state lawmakers have a stranglehold on their seats in the Legislature by design. It’s called redistricting.

    The way redistricting works in this state is that usually after the U.S. census results are tabulated every 10 years, state lawmakers redraw district lines for themselves and congressional representatives. To no one’s surprise anymore, those lines usually ensure Democratic dominance in the Assembly and Republican control in the Senate.

    As if the existing system doesn’t already make enough of a mockery of democratic principles, the U.S. Supreme Court last week handed down a ruling that essentially says a state can redraw district lines anytime it wants.

    In other words, states could conceivably opt to redistrict whenever political power shifts, provided they don’t violate the Voting Rights Act.

    The ruling ought to make Americans nervous, particularly New York residents, who already are at the mercy of lawmakers who have the highest re-election rate in the country.

    So what’s wrong with that? Just for starters, state spending is out of control, the cumulative tax burden is the highest in the nation, jobs are disappearing at an alarming rate and so are residents seeking relief.

    A proposal to create an independent redistricting commission never looked more attractive. The proposal, supported by good-government groups such as the League of Women Voters and Common Cause, responds to a recent study that found New York allows gerrymandered districts with vast disparities in population. Consequently the democratic principle of “one person, one vote” is undermined.

    The civic groups found, for instance, that only 25 of 212 legislative districts have political party enrollments that are close.

    Voters should be concerned that New York’s system of drawing districts is already questionable. Now with the new high court ruling, lawmakers conceivably could call for new district lines anytime they want for political gain.

    An independent redistricting commission is the best hope for the kind of legislative reform that New York so desperately needs.

Jerry mandering……. New districts need to be done across the state and the counties.