Wanted: Redrawn Political Districts That Encourage the Competition of Ideas Rather Than Gerrymandering

Texas may finally get some clarity on the legality of its congressional and statehouse districts, as the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a long, drawn-out case over whether some voting districts discriminate against minority voters.It's a short-term victory for Republicans, who appealed the case to the high court after a 3-judge panel in San Antonio ruled last year that the maps discriminated against voters of color. But it could yet result in a better playing field for Democrats, depending on the court's ruling.We hope that, whatever the outcome, the result is fewer political districts that lopsidedly favor either party. Our state, and country, will be better off when candidates compete more on the basis of their ideas than their gerrymandered district boundaries. The three federal judges in San Antonio said Republicans "packed" districts with Latino votes, diluting their voting strength in surrounding districts. They ordered the redrawing of two congressional districts and nine Texas House districts, including five in Dallas-Fort Worth. The current legal battle in Texas began in 2011, when a federal court first invalidated lines drawn by the Republican-controlled Legislature after the 2010 census. A subsequent remap likewise was challenged as discriminatory based on the 1965 Voting Rights Act.The state has denied targeting voters by race but admitted practicing partisan gerrymandering by favoring Republicans. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a separate Texas case on partisan redistricting but is expected to rule on similar partisan cases from Maryland and Wisconsin, which could affect Texas.Because of gerrymandering of districts across the country in the last 20 years, the number of competitive congressional districts has dropped from 164 to 72. Voters who care are complaining their vote doesn't count anymore because districts are draws so lopsidedly to favor one party or the other regardless of the candidates or ideas at play. At least 13 states have shifted the drawing of legislative district lines from their state legislatures to an independent board or commission. Bills were introduced last year in almost 30 other statehouses to create redistricting commissions.Redistricting should be taken out of the hands of the Texas Legislature. "Packing" districts to achieve a particular outcome -- whether racial or partisan -- was wrong when Democrats did it and it's wrong today, when Republicans are in control.  Continue reading...