Editorial from Macon newspaper about GOP gerrymandering in 46th district
Ruling a blow to political fairness
The Georgia Supreme Court made it official Monday: The Legislature can gerrymander statehouse districts all it wishes and whenever it wishes, as long as U.S. Census Bureau figures are used and districts remain contiguous. This is terrific news for the party in power - in this case, the Republicans - because it means that they can structure voting districts at any time to give Republican candidates a favorable edge during elections.
The court's ruling came after Democrats challenged the General Assembly's right to redistrict a Democratic stronghold in Athens, cutting it in half and reducing the likelihood that a democratic challenger to Republican Bill Cowsert would be able to unseat him in a bid for the 46th District state Senate seat. The Legislature modified the district to include all of Republican-dominated Oconee County. (The official reason for the change, the court was told, was that Madison County commissioners wanted their county to be in one Senate district. )
Historically, redistricting has taken place once every 10 years in which changes ostensibly were made to correct for shifts in population. The lawsuit sought to solidify this reasoning but the court concluded otherwise: It found that as long as a majority of the Legislature wanted to change district lines, it could do so. A federal appeal of this also ended in failure.
While the court has spoken, it is a shame that it gives the party in power a potent tool that will help ensure that it remains the party in power. The concept of House and Senate district lines based on population changes rather than political whim was reasonable. It permitted the Legislature every decade to consider the legitimacy of districts. Now, lawmakers can rejigger district lines at will to protect their members.
There is one important caveat. As attorney Emmet Bondurant, who challenged the redistricting for the Democrats, noted, the ruling is a double-edged sword: Should Republicans ever fall from favor and lose control of the statehouse, Democrats will have the same license to tinker with GOP lawmakers' districts so their seats will be in jeopardy. What's good for the goose...
The Georgia Supreme Court made it official Monday: The Legislature can gerrymander statehouse districts all it wishes and whenever it wishes, as long as U.S. Census Bureau figures are used and districts remain contiguous. This is terrific news for the party in power - in this case, the Republicans - because it means that they can structure voting districts at any time to give Republican candidates a favorable edge during elections.
The court's ruling came after Democrats challenged the General Assembly's right to redistrict a Democratic stronghold in Athens, cutting it in half and reducing the likelihood that a democratic challenger to Republican Bill Cowsert would be able to unseat him in a bid for the 46th District state Senate seat. The Legislature modified the district to include all of Republican-dominated Oconee County. (The official reason for the change, the court was told, was that Madison County commissioners wanted their county to be in one Senate district. )
Historically, redistricting has taken place once every 10 years in which changes ostensibly were made to correct for shifts in population. The lawsuit sought to solidify this reasoning but the court concluded otherwise: It found that as long as a majority of the Legislature wanted to change district lines, it could do so. A federal appeal of this also ended in failure.
While the court has spoken, it is a shame that it gives the party in power a potent tool that will help ensure that it remains the party in power. The concept of House and Senate district lines based on population changes rather than political whim was reasonable. It permitted the Legislature every decade to consider the legitimacy of districts. Now, lawmakers can rejigger district lines at will to protect their members.
There is one important caveat. As attorney Emmet Bondurant, who challenged the redistricting for the Democrats, noted, the ruling is a double-edged sword: Should Republicans ever fall from favor and lose control of the statehouse, Democrats will have the same license to tinker with GOP lawmakers' districts so their seats will be in jeopardy. What's good for the goose...
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