With the Failure of Redistricting Initiatives, Where Do We Go From Here?

This November, voters in California and Ohio soundly rejected ballot measures calling for independent redistricting processes to be created for each state's Congressional and state legislative line-drawing processes. The failure of these efforts does not indicate voters dislike reform, but it shows voters can be suspicious of plans that promise more than they can achieve, as well as apparent partisan motivations intrinsic to any mid-decade, state-by-state redistricting initiative.

With voters still seeking public interest elections, the time has come for an honest dialogue about the actual effects of redistricting. Additionally, the dialogue must be expanded to give line-drawing bodies more tools and options, such as multimember districts and proportional voting systems. In the least, we can do something unheard of in political circles: let the citizens decide. States should look to create citizens assemblies to study and recommend electoral changes, as British Columbia recently did with much success. In the meantime, Congress should embrace national efforts to reform redistricting, and in doing so avoid the state-by-state partisan calculations that the failed initiatives created.

[ FairVote Staff Blogs on Redistricting ]
[ Rob Richie's Op. Ed. on Redistricting ]
[ FairVote's Redistricting Reform Watch ]
[ Heather Gerken on a Citizens Assembly ]
[ Steven Hill Calls for a Citizens Assembly ]
[ Federal Redistricting Legislation ]

Redistricting reform on CA ballot this November

Gov. Schwarzenegger sets special election

On June 13, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a special election for this November to have voters consider three initiatives. One would create an independent panel of retired judges to draw state and congressional districts before the 2006 elections.

FairVote supports reforms that stop partisans from helping friends and hurting enemies in redistricting. But redrawing districts alone won't "bust up the boxes," as the governor seeks, because the real reason for lack of competitive choice in our legislative elections is winner-take-all elections. State-by-state reform of congressional redistricting also is more problematic than seeking national standards affecting all states simultaneously.

[See FairVote California’s plan to make our elections competitive]
[Read Steven Hill's take on redistricting published in Salon.com]
[Rep. Tanner's Fairness and Independence in Redistricting Act]

San Francisco Explores Voter Preregistration for High School Students

On April 5^th the San Francisco Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution to explore instituting a voter preregistration system for high school students. Resolution 271-05, sponsored by Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, calls for preregistering students as they enter their junior year. When they turn 18 they would be notified that their registration has automatically taken effect and given information on the date of the next election and their responsibilities when changing addresses.

FairVote strongly urges San Francisco to implement a high school voter preregistration program in order to shift some of the responsibility of registration from the citizen to the government and to guarantee cleaner voter rolls. The resolution supports both of these goals, noting that voter registration is the mutual responsibility of the citizen and the government in most democracies and universal voter registration will lead to cleaner voter rolls and reduce the opportunity for voter fraud. 
[Read the Resolution]