A recent study found that Democrats in New York had to contact a legislator, on average, for 1.4 days before the issue was resolved. This is far from the process of government and democracy as we know it.
The “do democrats gerrymander” is a term that was coined by the Republicans in 1812. It refers to the practice of drawing electoral districts for political gain in which one party or candidate has an advantage over another.
Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York speaks during a press conference on January 24 at the Albany NanoTech Complex in Albany, New York.
Angus Mordant/Bloomberg News photo
It’s gerrymandering, live from New York. Gov. Kathy Hochul put a new congressional map into law last week that is anticipated to remove half of the state’s Republican representation. In a state where Joe Biden received 60% of the vote, the map favors Democrats in 85 percent of House seats.
As a New York Democrat, I want to see my party gain as many House seats as possible. However, this map is hazardous. Democratic voters have a right to expect more from the persons they voted for.
Gerrymandering is unethical, regardless of who conducts it. It denies voters basic First Amendment rights and exacerbates divisiveness and dysfunction in politics. This “cancerous” practice, according to conservative Judge Paul Niemeyer, “undermines the basic precepts of our system of democracy.”
The Democratic elite in New York is well aware of this. For years, the party’s top leadership has been vocal against gerrymandering. However, now that they have unified control of Albany, Democrats have chosen sheer power above principle.
Republicans gerrymander, therefore Democrats should as well, say supporters of Democratic gerrymandering. New York Democrats, for example, have been exhorted to evaluate the “broader context” of GOP gerrymandering and oppose “unilateral disarmament,” according to Cornell law professor Michael Dorf. Mr. Dorf believes that there are “worse crimes than hypocrisy.”
In a democracy, however, what could be a worse immorality than using government machinery against political opponents? Whataboutist arguments to the “greater context” are used to explain a series of constitutional violations. Is it time for Staten Island to have some voting issues?
It’s just not true that gerrymandering is solely done by Republicans. Democrats in Illinois, Maryland, and Oregon redrew maps aggressively in redistricting cycle to consolidate control. Both parties have become masters of the cartographic dark arts over the last 40 years.
Hypocrisy is usually terrible, but it costs a lot more in this case. The baseless charges of voting fraud made by President Trump have damaged trust in our election systems. They’ve fostered a flood of terrible legislation that puts election administration and voting rights in jeopardy. Gerrymandering in areas where we have complete control tarnishes our ability to oppose and halt these activities.
There isn’t much Democratic voters in New York can do to obtain fair maps, but I have two suggestions. First, Democratic voters should keep pushing for national voting-rights legislation that limits partisans’ ability to cling to power. We should be ready to collaborate with Republican senators who reject other voting improvements, but we must acknowledge that gerrymandering is a “antidemocratic and un-American practice,” as Ronald Reagan put it. Although anti-gerrymandering legislation is unlikely to succeed this year or anytime near, it must remain a key goal for the party.
Second, we should back the Republican lawsuit challenging the map, which was filed on Thursday. Their legal argument is based on the state constitution’s anti-gerrymandering clauses, which Democrats championed in 2014. The lawsuit, if successful, may compel New York Democrats to alter the electoral map. That would be a defeat for Democrats, but a victory for them.
Politics brings together unusual bedfellows. Principles, too, have their moments.
Mr. Hosie is a legal fellow at the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Liberty Center of the American Civil Liberties Union.
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The “gerrymandering example” is a term that has been used to describe the practice of drawing electoral districts in such a way as to favor one political party over another. This can be done by manipulating district boundaries, either through packing or cracking, or through redistricting after each census.
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