Look at North Carolina, where Democrats engineered a district to ensure a minority representative (Democrat, of course) would emerge. It happens all over the place on the part of both parties and it's gross. Moreover, I think that the courts have been too permissive of the districts. They taught us in school that gerrymandering was not allowed, but now it is.
No argument there, except that the NC was drawn to ensure minority representation, not because the evil Dems in the state legislature gerrymandered it in their favor, but because the Voting Rights Act of 1965 REQUIRES that. If they had not done it, the SCOTUS would have done it for them (as they did when TX could not manage to preserve minority representation in either of its 2010 redistricting maps.) Funny how your view of gerrymandering changed so radically in just a few days though....
They should use a universal formula: take the southwest corner of your state and draw a square, expanding it until you reach a district size of population. Then move east and keep doing it, and then shift the borders slightly if, at the end of the process, you have a narrow strip at the top of the state. Period.
Works for me. Dems are totally boned under this scenario, of course, but, once again, "cui bono?" is not the operative question. Equal protection under the law should make its answer "everyone."
Honorbound and honored to be Bonded to Mahtaliel Sedai
Last First in wotmania Chat
Slightly better than chocolate.
Love still can't be coerced.
Please Don't Eat the Newbies!
LoL. Be well, RAFOlk.
Last First in wotmania Chat
Slightly better than chocolate.
Love still can't be coerced.
Please Don't Eat the Newbies!
LoL. Be well, RAFOlk.
This message last edited by Joel on 12/11/2012 at 08:26:45 PM
Could Ohio Kill the Electoral College?
- 05/11/2012 04:43:48 PM
703 Views
Well, let's hope Romney takes Pennsylvania, too, so we don't have to worry about this. *NM*
- 05/11/2012 05:46:22 PM
103 Views
I do not think even the GOPs massive PA vote suppression effort is enough to accomplish that.
- 05/11/2012 06:38:05 PM
375 Views
It's not impossible. I roughly reversed engineered Silver's tipping point simulation...
- 05/11/2012 11:06:16 PM
426 Views
what? directly vote for president? COMMUNISM!
- 05/11/2012 06:01:00 PM
279 Views
Seems like everything is communism these days, even/especially things that are not.
- 05/11/2012 06:56:55 PM
256 Views
A simple solution: proportional allocation of electors from each state with 15 votes or more.
- 05/11/2012 08:34:08 PM
267 Views
I prefer 1 EV per house district, with 2 EVs going to state winners
- 05/11/2012 08:40:50 PM
366 Views
it would certainly make the races more interesting.....
- 05/11/2012 09:09:24 PM
221 Views
If not for gerrymandering I would consider this the ideal solution.
- 05/11/2012 09:26:01 PM
240 Views
But in that system, the small states would be bypassed completely
- 05/11/2012 09:55:49 PM
274 Views
You mean even more than they already are (outside of the NH primaries)?
- 05/11/2012 11:17:14 PM
232 Views
Me too actually, but only with computerized semi-random redistricting *NM*
- 06/11/2012 05:38:25 AM
94 Views
why would there need to be a nation-wide recount? don't the states keep their own tallies?
- 05/11/2012 09:08:04 PM
269 Views
What if none of the states were close enough for a recount, but the country as a whole was?
- 05/11/2012 09:23:33 PM
230 Views
i suppose at that point the Supreme Court would have every justification to hear the case....
- 06/11/2012 06:07:06 PM
336 Views
What Legolas said; if we did it by national popular vote, recounts would need to be national.
- 05/11/2012 09:34:30 PM
330 Views
I like that idea, though I have long felt Larrys idea of using Congressional Districts is better.
- 05/11/2012 09:22:49 PM
392 Views
So you undermined your own argument from the start...
- 05/11/2012 10:01:07 PM
242 Views
Um... WHAT? Republicans have 9/13 CDs in NC.
- 12/11/2012 07:52:16 PM
362 Views