Just because political parties can gerrymander to their benefit doesn’t mean they should

To understand why gerrymandering is a problem you need to take a step back and think about the structure of American government. Many are fond of saying the U.S. isn’t a democracy. True: it’s technically a “Republic.” As the Framers were finalizing the Constitution in 1787, a passerby supposedly asked Benjamin Franklin what form of government they created. “A Republic, if you can keep it,” he said.

A republic is a system of government where certain individuals are selected to represent the public in running the affairs of state. The U.S. is a democratic republic, since the people, or some portion thereof, elect the representatives through a democratic process. A significant portion of the Constitution is devoted to outlining the rules for those elections.

How representative is our government? Let’s look at Kentucky. In 2020, 62 % of the population voted for Republican for President and 36% voted Democrat. In 2016, 62% voted Republican and 32% voted Democrat, and in 2012, 60% voted Republican, and 37% voted Democratic. Based on these Presidential results, the state is roughly 60% Republican and 35% Democrat.

Now let’s look at Kentucky’s six Representatives. Of the six, only one (John Yarmuth, 3rd District) is a Democrat. That means that only 16.6% of our Representatives are Democrats. Thirty-five percent of the public is represented by only 16.6% of our Congressmen. Not very representative. The 6th District, centered around Lexington, occasionally elects a Democrat. When it does, the delegation is 33% Democratic, and nearly fully representative. But now the Republican controlled General Assembly has proposed a redistricting map that would make it nearly impossible for a Democrat to win in the 6th, so Kentucky’s congressional delegation will remain, for the foreseeable future, unrepresentative.

The General Assembly isn’t much different. In the State Senate, there are currently eight Democrats and 30 Republicans, so only 21% are Democrats. In the previous Senate there were 10 Democrats and 28 Republicans, or 26%. In the State House there are currently 25 Democrats and 75 Republicans, or 25%, so not very representative. In 2018 there were 37 Democrats and 63 Republicans, or 37% Democratic, which is very close to accurate representation.

The current redistricting plan realigns districts in heavily Democratic areas around Louisville and Lexington so there are more suburban and rural voters who tend to vote Republican. This will likely reduce the number of Democrats in the General Assembly, making them even less representative. Our General Assembly, which is supposed to be a “representative” body, is not very representative. That’s the impact of gerrymandering.

I know people say that Democrats did this in the past, and currently do it in states they control. True, but that doesn’t make it right.

The reality is that if people don’t think the rules of the game are fair, they’ll change the rules. Does the public think the rules of politics are fair?

A huge percentage of our population has largely abandoned politics. Presidential elections are unusual if more than about half of potential voters go to the polls, and mid-term Congressional elections rarely get more than about 45%. That’s a clear expression of disgust with the system.

According to recent polling, only about 21% of the public trusts government, and about 23% approves of Congress. In another poll, 61% of respondents said “significant changes” are needed in the design and structure of our government. Last year only 33% of Americans said that the two parties are doing an adequate job of representing the public.

The public is clearly disgusted. Obviously, people on the left and right are disgusted for different reasons. But all agree that there is a problem, and one reason is that people don’t feel represented.

Republicans in the General Assembly have every right to gerrymander these districts for their political advantage. But they need to understand that in doing so they are de-legitimizing government, and themselves.

Michael Coblenz is a patent attorney in Lexington. He can be reached at mike@coblenzlaw.com.

This story was originally published February 16, 2022 at 9:50 AM.