FairVote's Response to
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's California Redistricting Plan
February 2005
As national attention turns to California Governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger's plan to replace the state's partisan gerrymandering system with
an independent redistricting commission, FairVote-The Center for Voting and
Democracy seeks to highlight beneficial elements to the plan, as well as
ways to improve upon it. We applaud the governor for highlighting no-choice
elections in California and hope to broaden the discussion to include additional
considerations -- indeed we need far more action on reforming redistricting in
Congress and in states around the nation. Since 1992, FairVote, a non-profit,
non-partisan electoral reform organization has studied the consequences and
problems associated with partisan gerrymandering and the redistricting process,
through its groundbreaking Monopoly
Politics and Dubious Democracy
reports and its 50-state Public
Interest Redistricting guide. Over time we have consistently backed
non-partisan redistricting criteria, but we believe the process should not end
there, as competitive races and increased representation of women and
communities of color requires more than just a neutral line-drawing
process. Furthermore, as the British
Columbia Citizens Assembly on Electoral Reform shows us, ordinary citizens
have much to say about not just who they elect, but how they elect them. The
following FairVote reformers comment here on redistricting issues and
Schwarzenegger's proposal:
John Anderson (Chair, Fairvote; Former Presidential Candidate and Member,
U.S. House): "Gerrymandering clearly contributes to this dismal state
of democracy, but it's less of a problem than the fact of single-member
districts themselves. The combination of predictable voters, hardening partisan
divisions, high-tech tools, and the general free hand given to legislators
creates a perfect storm for no-choice elections -- one that fairer redistricting
can tame only at the margins. Independent redistricting commissions are a
good first step to eliminating partisan gerrymanders, but for fair and full
representation and competitive elections you need more. In my home state of
Illinois, we minimized these problems for years by electing our representatives
in three-seat
districts, using a full representation voting system. California should
explore all of these options as it reforms its redistricting process. Contact
John Anderson at (954) 262-6183.
David Moon (Program Director, FairVote): "Schwarzenegger's
redistricting reform proposal highlights the importance of creating a
redistricting process in the public interest, rather than one serving only to
benefit politicians. His plan seeks to minimize partisan rigging of district
lines, a critical first step to restoring integrity to the process - but it does
not address the continuing problem of stagnant representation of women and
communities of color. The Governor wants to take his plan directly to the
people, but at this early stage it seems critical to allow citizens to be a part
of this deliberative process. Voters should have the opportunity not just
to choose their representatives, but to choose how they elect them, as
the citizens of British Columbia recently did."
Additional Resources on Redistricting and Gov.
Schwarzenegger's Proposal:
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