Independent redistricting commissions are more popular than ever, but some states in which Democrats have political control — like Colorado — are starting to regret giving up map-making power.
MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
Tomorrow, the Census Bureau is set to release major results from the 2020 head count. Those numbers will be used to redraw voting districts across the country. In more states than ever, voters have decided they no longer want state lawmakers to be the ones to draw those lines. Instead, they have moved to independent commissions to try to take some of the politics out of redistricting. But as Bente Birkeland from Colorado Public Radio reports, some politicians and activists in the state are worried this new process will not be a cure-all.
BENTE BIRKELAND, BYLINE: In 2018, Colorado overwhelmingly approved an independent commission to draw congressional maps. It had a large, diverse group of backers, even high-profile celebrities, like actress Jennifer Lawrence.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
JENNIFER LAWRENCE: Amendments Y and Z end gerrymandering by taking the power to draw maps away from the politicians and party bosses.
BIRKELAND: So for the first time in state history, Colorado lawmakers have no role in drawing the state's congressional boundaries. Instead, it's in the hands of a politically balanced, randomly selected commission. It's similar to the model California adopted more than a decade ago. If it were still up to Colorado's Legislature, Democrats would be in charge, since they control the state government.
COLIN LARSON: They would have basically unilateral power to just gerrymander everything.
BIRKELAND: Republican State Representative Colin Larson says a commission is more fair and he's glad there's a way to keep Democratic lawmakers in check.
LARSON: I think we see a lot of partisanship run amuck. So I'd like to see a more collaborative, more bipartisan legislature. And hopefully that's what we'll get after these lines.
JEFF BRIDGES: It's a truism that people in power rarely do things that lessen the amount of power that they have.
BIRKELAND: That's Democratic State Senator Jeff Bridges. This year, 10 states are using commissions to draw their maps, and some others have a hybrid process. While Bridges supports independent commissions, he says he is concerned that most of the states using commissions to draw maps tend to be blue states and that it could give Republicans an advantage.
BRIDGES: So there is a danger that you will have legislatures in red states drawing districts that minimize the voice of certain people in their state and end up sending a predominantly one-sided delegation to Congress.
BIRKELAND: Right now, Colorado's commission is traveling the state and holding public hearings to get feedback on a draft map. Theresa Trujillo is a Democratic organizer and attended a recent hearing. Even though she voted for the independent commission, she says she's now questioning it.
THERESA TRUJILLO: Yes, they're going out into the community and hearing from the community, but in such a limited way.
BIRKELAND: Trujillo and other Latinos have raised concerns about the preliminary maps. The boundaries are expected to change. But Trujillo worries the maps are mostly set in stone.
TRUJILLO: Trying to go against what is already written down on paper and drawn out on a map is going to be difficult and a challenge for our communities. And one of the issues is, they are missing the nuance of the Latino community in Colorado.
BIRKELAND: Putting an independent commission in charge of redistricting was meant to remove some of the mystery from the process. But it also relies on the public understanding enough to push for the maps they think are best. Trujillo and others say that's been an ongoing challenge as they try to get people involved in such a complex and ultimately political process.
For NPR News, I'm Bente Birkeland.
(SOUNDBITE OF FOUR80EAST'S "WATERLINE")
Copyright © 2021 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc., an NPR contractor, and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
"some" - Google News
August 12, 2021 at 03:38AM
https://ift.tt/3xHPW2q
Concerns Persist As Independent Commissions Redraw Voting Districts In Some States - NPR
"some" - Google News
https://ift.tt/37fuoxP
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Concerns Persist As Independent Commissions Redraw Voting Districts In Some States - NPR"
Post a Comment