Take gerrymandering off the table for both parties

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O P I N I O N

THE SOAPBOX

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Stand up. Speak up. It’s Your Turn.


In recent weeks, the subject of gerrymandering has come to the forefront as New Hampshire’s two congressional districts were subjected to significant changes in an attempt to balance out our state’s voting representation following the 2020 census. Unfortunately, opportunism won the day and as a result, our two districts have been engineered to ensure one Democratic district and one Republican district as opposed to keeping both districts competitive. This is a far cry from the balance voters had in mind when we trusted our state representatives to do the important work of ensuring fair representation across our state.

This is a tactic that has been employed by both parties over the years, begging the question: what can be done to take power out of the ruling party’s hands and place it back in the voter’s hands? One answer is the Freedom to Vote Act, currently up for debate in the US Senate. Contrary to popular belief, this is a bill that enjoys widespread support among a broad range of voters and lawmakers spanning the political spectrum.

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To begin with—and most relevantly—it attempts to address gerrymandering by creating guidelines for both parties to adhere to, thereby insulating voters from the ever-intensifying partisan pendulum swings we experience from one election cycle to the next. Admittedly, the practice of gerrymandering might seem appealing while our own party is in the majority, but lest we forget what life is like when the other party holds the majority.

This practice should be taken off the table altogether so that the redrawing of district boundaries can simply be functional rather than political. For example, if a region shares a school district, water, sewer, and other utility systems; along with police and fire departments, then those communities should stay together. Instead, thanks to gerrymandering, we now see areas with these sorts of shared interests divided in order to concentrate voting blocks.

The purpose of redrawing district lines is simple: to ensure balanced representation. Unfortunately, our lawmakers have taken the opposite approach. They’ve over-engineered a process that is functional in nature and instead turned it into a political tool to advantage the majority party. This inevitably complicates matters that cut directly to the everyday issues that impact our quality of life—the things that we, as constituents, care most about.

If this practice continues unchecked, voters and residents of our state will be subject to partisan whiplash every time the majority changes hands, all while placing the burden on voters to keep track of who is responsible for addressing our most pressing needs each time district lines are redrawn.

If this feels like a burden to you, too, then consider learning more about how the Freedom to Vote Act would address this. It also addresses other common concerns about voting, such as election security and establishing national standards for mail-in voting. You may not agree with everything, but it’s likely you’ll join the many voters and lawmakers alike, who see potential for common ground when it comes to protecting the integrity of our elections.

Together we can bring the political pendulum to rest. Begin by educating yourself about the Freedom to Vote Act and then encourage our senators to support it. If there’s one point we can agree on, it’s that we could all use a break from the exhausting back and forth.


 

About this Author

Christine Fajardo

Christine Fajardo is Alderman-elect for Ward 4 in Manchester and begins her term in January 2022.