Redistricting: a legitimate winner.*
Some time ago there was a rolling debate over the benefits of the Charter school system in the US.
Most often, the percentage of students consistently getting the best results while studying at a Charter school suggested that these schools and their methods were the answer to America’s educational needs.
What was not revealed was the fact that students at Charter schools were accepted only if their normal grades were considered high enough for them to benefit the school. With only the better performing students on their rollcalls, the average would of course be higher—though not because of a better training regime.
So too is redistricting expected to yield similar results, or so the parties hope.
For many people this doesn’t seem to make much difference. We still do not have the representation we expected from the people we elected. We still suffer the lack of amenities we were promised. Very little in my life has changed from one administration to the other.
And it is true: the only real reason for redistricting is to guarantee—or at least improve the chances—that seats are retained and majorities preserved.
But what of legitimacy?
On this ever-changing planet the distribution of demographics fluctuates across regions and time. As one region expands, another contracts. As resources are depleted in one area, new opportunities elsewhere spark migration and shift entire communities. Legitimate tools exist to compensate for this.
But when a nation employs such tools only to dictate outcomes, then legitimacy is lost.
And that is exactly what is happening in the land of the brave.
Discontent over policies adopted during the Trump years has shaken the certainty of a governing majority. Trust in so many recently appointed officials has ebbed. And so desperate measures are taken—let’s redistrict and guarantee we still hold an undeserved majority.
As with Charter schools, the results are baked in before the first test is taken.
Such is the nature of politics. The people involved have no say, and the means used to preclude legitimate opposition are being bulldozed through state legislatures without a modicum of debate.
As if autocracy wasn’t enough—now deceit is institutionalized as strategy.
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