Whenever the subject of the partisan gridlock of Washington is discussed, the media retreats into a discussion of "gerrymandering". In other words, we get told that the principal reason for partisanship is that the state legislatures have drawn congressional districts in such a way that the incumbents are protected against challenges by the other party. Just today, Norm Ornstein writes a piece in the National Journal about the pernicious effects of widespread gerrymandering.
The truth, however, is something quite different. The main reason why seats in Congress are stacked in favor of one party or the other is the requirements of the federal Voting Rights Act. In 1965, Congress mandated that in drawing legislative districts, states are required to create what are called minority majority districts. In other words, wherever possible, the state is supposed to draw districts in which minorities are lumped together. The result of this law is that across America there are districts which have a majority of blacks or Hispanics and which are represented for the most part by members of these minority groups. The goal of the law was to increase the number of minorities in Congress and state legislatures, and it has worked.
The problem with the requirements of the Voting Rights Act came about because minorities, especially African Americans, tend to vote for Democrats in overwhelming numbers. Remember, in 2012, president Obama won the popular vote by just over 2% above Republican Mitt Romney. Among African Americans, however, Obama won roughly 95% of the vote. Obama also won close to three quarters of the Hispanic vote. That means that among the remainder of the electorate, Obama lost by something like 20%. Now imagine that the extremely Democrat black and Hispanic voters are all pushed into a few districts in each state so that there can be minority majority districts as required by the Voting Rights Act. If the remaining voters (who have been strongly Republican in recent years) are spread across the remaining districts, the result is that there are a great many Republican districts and many fewer Democrat districts out of the ones that are not set up for minorities.
Now throw in the fact that in many states, the control by one party or the other is nearly total. For example, California is highly Democrat while Texas is highly Republican. In both states, there are minority majority districts which are almost exclusively Democrat. In California, there are enough Democrats left that the party controls over half of the remaining districts. In Texas, the numbers of non-minority Democrats is so low that there are almost no Democrat districts which do not have minority majorities.
The remedy to the polarization of Congress would be to repeal the Voting Rights Act. If minorities were split into different districts, the outcomes in those districts would be much more uncertain. The problem, however, is that the number of minorities in Congress would probably decline.
Gerrymandering implies that there is no fairness behind the redistricting in Congress. The pundits are wrong when they talk about this, however. The truth is that the way districts have been drawn is the direct result of Congress attempting to make certain that there is adequate minority representation among its members. If that attempt results in helping to make re-election easier for all of the Congressmen, well, they just look at that as a bonus.
The truth, however, is something quite different. The main reason why seats in Congress are stacked in favor of one party or the other is the requirements of the federal Voting Rights Act. In 1965, Congress mandated that in drawing legislative districts, states are required to create what are called minority majority districts. In other words, wherever possible, the state is supposed to draw districts in which minorities are lumped together. The result of this law is that across America there are districts which have a majority of blacks or Hispanics and which are represented for the most part by members of these minority groups. The goal of the law was to increase the number of minorities in Congress and state legislatures, and it has worked.
The problem with the requirements of the Voting Rights Act came about because minorities, especially African Americans, tend to vote for Democrats in overwhelming numbers. Remember, in 2012, president Obama won the popular vote by just over 2% above Republican Mitt Romney. Among African Americans, however, Obama won roughly 95% of the vote. Obama also won close to three quarters of the Hispanic vote. That means that among the remainder of the electorate, Obama lost by something like 20%. Now imagine that the extremely Democrat black and Hispanic voters are all pushed into a few districts in each state so that there can be minority majority districts as required by the Voting Rights Act. If the remaining voters (who have been strongly Republican in recent years) are spread across the remaining districts, the result is that there are a great many Republican districts and many fewer Democrat districts out of the ones that are not set up for minorities.
Now throw in the fact that in many states, the control by one party or the other is nearly total. For example, California is highly Democrat while Texas is highly Republican. In both states, there are minority majority districts which are almost exclusively Democrat. In California, there are enough Democrats left that the party controls over half of the remaining districts. In Texas, the numbers of non-minority Democrats is so low that there are almost no Democrat districts which do not have minority majorities.
The remedy to the polarization of Congress would be to repeal the Voting Rights Act. If minorities were split into different districts, the outcomes in those districts would be much more uncertain. The problem, however, is that the number of minorities in Congress would probably decline.
Gerrymandering implies that there is no fairness behind the redistricting in Congress. The pundits are wrong when they talk about this, however. The truth is that the way districts have been drawn is the direct result of Congress attempting to make certain that there is adequate minority representation among its members. If that attempt results in helping to make re-election easier for all of the Congressmen, well, they just look at that as a bonus.
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