Redistricting Reform Testimony
Redistricting Reform Testimony
I am here tonight to speak about trust. Trust in
our democratic institutions. Trust in our elected officials. And trust in
justice.
A vibrant and healthy democracy requires that an
informed public be actively engaged in the selection of its representatives.
Exercising your right to vote is the most fundamental right granted to citizens
in a representative democracy. Each Election Day, voters hold their elected
officials accountable for their leadership decisions of the previous term and
decide whether to return the incumbents to elected office or whether to replace
them with new leadership.
Accountability can be further advanced only in the
context of reasonably apportioned districts. Gerrymandered districts
disenfranchise Marylanders and contribute to partisan polarization by removing
incentives for candidates to appeal to the wider public. Our gerrymandered
congressional districts tend to predetermine the outcome of our General
Elections, turning our Primary Elections, in many cases, into the de-facto
General Election.
As a consequence of the increasing influence of
the Primary Election on the electoral process, I would like to state my support
of an Open Primary System similar to that practiced in California today that
would enable the top vote getters in the Primary to proceed to the General
Election even if they be of the same political party.
With voter turnout at record low rates, many have
been left scratching their heads as to how we might increase voter
participation in our democracy. It is my suspicion that rates of voter turnout
can be increased, especially in off-year (non-presidential) gubernatorial
primary elections, by conveying to voters that their vote matters, that their
vote will be counted, and consequently that their voice matters and their
government is truly one that is representative of the people.
Legislative
Action Items:
·
Empower the
independent, non-partisan Department of Legislative Services (or create an
independent Redistricting Commission) with the authority to redistrict
legislative districts based upon population shifts as recorded in the U.S.
Census.
o An independent Commission would restore confidence
in our electoral system, providing guidance to other bodies regarding the
spirit of our governing decisions
o Recently the Montgomery County Board of Elections
decided to close two Early Voting Centers that are located in heavily
Democratic districts. Many in our
community suspect that this decision is retribution for unfairly drawn
legislative districts that favor Democrats. An independent Redistricting
Commission would quite possibly have the positive externality of restoring
faith and confidence in our Democratic processes.
There have been concerns expressed that the legislation that
I propose should be introduced at the federal level, and indeed Representative
Chris Van Hollen has introduced a piece of legislation in the US Congress that
would address some of these issues. Unfortunately, there is very little
prospect of passing such legislation in our current, hyper-polarized Congress
(which incidentally is very much the product of these corrupted processes). These
concerns are based in the argument that the Democratic Party in Maryland will
lose seats in the Congressional Delegation if legislative districts are drawn
by a non partisan entity, while Republicans continue to benefit from
gerrymandering in other states. This is likely a realistic concern if
redistricting were to become a non-partisan process.
There are proposals that would address these concerns, including
but not limited to a cross-state collaborative partnership with the Virginia
General Assembly, which has a Republican dominated congressional delegation
that would likely lose seats to Democrats if they were to have their districts
drawn in a non-partisan manner.
That said, there comes a time when our elected officials
must do what is right and lead from the front. The time is now to redistrict in
a non-partisan manner. Thank you.