Tennessee Redistricting: A Gerrymandering Threat Friday, May 28, 2021
The Unity Group of Chattanooga is issuing this synopsis in order to inform the community on what is one of the most pivotal aspects of our electoral and voting processes, Redistricting. According to the Tennessee Comptroller, Redistricting “refers to the delineation of boundaries for political units, such as state legislative and county commission districts.” It is paramount that the redistricting process remains above the fray by being solely based on fairness and equity. Tennessee’s “in the back room” closed door approach to redistricting endangers this process because it lacks transparency, accountability, inclusiveness and public scrutiny.
There seems to be only one thing people of both political parties can agree on our legislative process is broken. Compromise is rare, most elections have pre-ordained winners, and incumbents feel free to ignore constituents who disagree with them. Fortunately, we have an opportunity to fix the problem once and for all. We can restore Wisconsinâs reputation as a state that works by and for the people, and we have introduced legislation that can do just that.
We are two elected officials who unequivocally believe that politicians should not draw political maps, which is why we are introducing the Fair Maps Bill. This legislation would establish an independent, non-partisan commission to create legislative districts based on commonsense principles including compactness, following municipal boundaries, and keeping communities together whenever possible.Â
OPINIONÂ Â There seems to be only one thing people of both political parties can agree on â our legislative process is broken. Compromise is rare, most elections have pre-ordained winners and incumbents feel free to ignore constituents who disagree with them. Fortunately we have an opportunity to fix the problem once and for all. We can restore Wisconsinâs reputation as a state that works by and for the people, and we have introduced legislation that can do just that.
We are two elected officials who unequivocally believe politicians should not draw political maps, which is why weâre introducing the Fair Maps Bill. The legislation would establish an independent non-partisan commission to create legislative districts based on commonsense principles including compactness. The districts would follow municipal boundaries and keep communities together whenever possible.
Rep. Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) expressed frustration about the Democrats’ failure to live up to its promise of cooperating fully with Republicans in creating fair maps.
Durkin also went as far as 2016 to cite House Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment 58 (HJRCA 58) which was a comprehensive bipartisan measure to put up an Independent Commission made up of eight members appointed by the chief justice of the Illinois Supreme Court. The bottom line is that the Democrats have absolutely no intention of holding to their promises on fair maps,” Durkin said. “The ones which they campaigned on and a fair map process which over 600,00 Illinoisans signed a petition on a few years ago to say that that is the way in which we should move forward.
April 27, 2021
The drawing of fair legislative district maps has become a key issue for the League of Women Voters. In Wisconsin, the majority party has the privilege of redrawing voting district maps after every census. League President Linda Reinhardt says the current method allows elected officials to pick their voters, rather than the other way around. Reinhardt says this means many legislative seats are secure, and those representatives don’t need to listen to the opposing party or even constituents. Reinhardt says volunteers will be leaving Fair Maps information on residents’ doors this Thursday to better educate the public about the problem.