Published: 3/27/2019 12:01:30 AM
I totally agree with Jim Baer’s “My Turn” (Monitor Opinion, March 22). He laid out a good summary of what it takes to make elections fair. I only wish he had highlighted one additional major component of a fair election: fairly drawn district maps that do not favor one party.
Redistricting, or gerrymandering, is being discussed now more than in the past for good reason – the focus throughout the country is trust in our elections. Not only is it important for each of us to register and vote, but also to ensure that each vote carries equal weight. That is accomplished through maps that are redrawn in a nonpartisan manner.
Redrawing districts happens every 10 years after the census – so a new method should be implemented in 2020. This is done at the state level.
To that end, House Bill 706, which provides for the establishment of a nonpartisan redistricting commission, passed the House with firm bipartisan support. Now it will cross over to the Senate for a vote expected in a week or two.
Please call your senator and urge her or him to support this bill. Please remind them that if the current system is not changed, the maps will be drawn by the party in power – which may or may not be your senator’s party.
SALLY HATCH
Concord