Thank goodness we can’t do US gerrymanders

Politico reports:

Texas Republicans unveiled a new congressional map on Wednesday that would provide their party with five new red-leaning districts, a plan that — if enacted — could provide a boost to the party as it tries to cling to control of the House. 

The redraw would significantly benefit Republicans by making districts held by Democratic Reps. Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez, who both represent heavily-Latino areas of the Rio Grande Valley, redder, and make some Democratic-controlled districts even bluer in an attempt to create GOP-leaning districts elsewhere.

The GOP basically told their computer program to design the best possible boundaries for them, and have passed them into law. Gerrymandering has occurred for a long time, but normally happens when they have to redraw boundaries after a census. This one has occurred just because they can.

We are fortunate this can’t happen in NZ. The law states boundaries get redrawn only after each census, and the Representation Commission is chaired by a judge and has a majority on it of neutral public servants. Having MPs decide their own boundaries is a very bad idea.