The Failed Promise of Independent Election Mapmaking
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In Washington and other states, independent redistricting commissions have fallen prey to partisanship, just like the legislative bodies they were meant to replace.
@ProPublica It's a vital improvement over letting legislators draw their own districts, and it can be an effective remedy to gerrymandering. Consider Michigan.
Independent redistricting commissions need public involvement and oversight like any other government body. We saw that right here in San Francisco, where we had our own fraught redistricting process. @lwvsf has been working hard to reform it.
Calling it a “Failed Promise” seems unnecessarily fatalistic. Maybe Washington's commission needs some changes. (That's a question for the people of Washington.) But let's not give up on the idea entirely—it can work well when done right and defended against corruption.