The Pros And Cons Of Gerrymandering

Gerrymandering Threatens the Democratic Process
One of the biggest paradoxes in America democracy concerns the US Congress. The average approval of Congress falls between 10-15 percent of the American people, which is a worse approval rating similar to support for traffic jams. However, the 2016 elections resulted only in the defeat of eight incumbent congressmen from a body comprising of 435 representatives. One of the best strategies that can be used to fix the American democracy is ridding America of gerrymandering. Gerrymandering refers to the common practice that involves drawing electoral districts for the purpose of manipulating the electorate (Seabrook12). It forms one of the issues that form a consensus between Republicans and Democrats

The figure is peculiar since it is a figure than can be expected dorm desolate countries such as Zimbabwe, Russia and North Korea rather than a huge democratic powerhouse like the United States. However, the shocking reality is that the race was typically won by a Republican or Democrat with almost 70% of the votes while the challengers ended up winning only 30% (Roth 25). In the same elections, out of the 435 races, only 17 sears were decided by a 5% margin or less. This statistic indicates that approximately nine out of ten of the House races were landslide wins such that the campaigns were a forgone conclusion before even the casting of the ballot. The elections also resulted in about 42 races out of the 50 states in which there were no real competition for Congress representation. These events indicate an unhealthy system of government defined by a strong political

The first ray of hope comes from several court rulings whereby the federal courts and state courts have hit hard on gerrymandering districts. Some of these court rulings objected some of the districts in which the line were drawn based on racial affiliations. One of these rulings is Whitford V. Gill (A Wisconsin court ruling) in which the court ruled that the drawing of the district lines should not be conducted for deliberate partisan gain. A ruling on gerrymandering by the Supreme Court transforms and reinvigorated the American democracy just at a time when a positive shock is most necessary. The second hope is that fixing gerrymandering is becoming easier with time as the right parameter enable computer models to provide a fair apportioning of citizens into diverse districts, which makes geographic and competitive sensibility. Such a step will protect the minority from being used in a nationwide political game. Such efforts can be assisted and supported by court rulings that strip the districts that draw their people from the partisan legislators and placing them under the management of commissions led by citizens, which comprise of equal numbers of Republican and Democrat-learning voters. Whereas partisan politics can be exercised, such activities should be restricted within districts rather than during the formation of these districts