Handful of elections shed light on US politics. Political News AP - Most Americans won't vote Tuesday. Source: Yahoo! News: Politics News
2 out of 3 ain't bad
It was a big night for conservatives in New Jersey and Virginia. After 400 years of corruption, New Jersey finally decided to try something different. The big race in New York didn't end well for Doug Hoffman, as the Democrat won by 3 percentage points. Glenn gives his take on the results across the country on this morning's radio program. Ref. Source 5
Political maps under fire as Supreme Court case on tailor-made districts looms. As the Supreme Court prepares to hear a landmark challenge to Wisconsin's partisan gerrymandering in October, opponents of the process in other states aren't just waiting for the justices' verdict. They're waging legal and constitutional battles of their own that also could reach the nation's highest court. However the court rules could change who represents you in Congress. Ref. USAToday.
I'm torn by this. We give the states the right to draw their own districts and then we tell them how to do it. That sounds off kilter to me. If they have the right to draw their own districts let them do it. They aren't doing it along racial lines per se. They are doing it along party lines so the party in power in that states can end up with more seats. The fact that one ethnicity votes 90+% for one party means that they will be lumped in that party's districts.
It seems every election year that the political lines are being redrawn so the party in power can stay in power. I think that is just plain wrong. Leave the lines alone unless there is a huge population explosion or a he population loss that requires the lines to be redrawn. IF your party member can not win by playing fair then maybe they do not need to be in office.
KN,
They get redrawn every ten years when there is a census if there is a change in representation. At that point they have to be redrawn because you either gamed or lost districts. As far as I know that is the only time they are done. The reason it's in the news all the time is because this group or that group is bringing it to the courts.
I have had the districts redrawn around here a lot more than just once every ten years it seems. I think in the past ten years they have been redrawn at least three times. I think it all has to do with politics as the population has shifted from one city to another. I think the politicians look for any excuse to redrawn them.