海角大神

Question: What do you call an amoeba with a pseudopod the length of a giraffe鈥檚 neck?

Answer: A gerrymandered district.

If you thought that鈥檚 a bad joke, you鈥檇 be right, but not as bad a joke as some people 鈥� including political experts 鈥� say real-life gerrymandering is. That is drawing congressional districts in the strangest shapes imaginable to purposely include or exclude households loyal to different parties with the motive of keeping your own party in power.

One extreme here in California is the 23d Congressional District, known as the 鈥淩ibbon of Shame鈥� because it stretches more than 200 miles and narrows in places to 100 yards wide. Extreme examples elsewhere include two districts in Illinois, one nicknamed 鈥淧air of Headphones鈥� and the other 鈥淩abbit on Skateboard鈥� for the Rorschach-inkblot absurdities that result from gerrymandering.

Gerrymandering's ills

But oddly shaped districts aren鈥檛 the only problem. Experts say gerrymandering is one of the biggest reasons for political gridlock in America; fault it for producing complacent politicians who lack the finely honed skills obtained from confronting real opposition; and see it as a factor in the political disenfranchisement that gave rise to the 鈥渢ea party鈥� movement.

鈥淕errymandering is politicians picking their voters rather than voters picking their politicians,鈥� says Lara Brown, author of 鈥淛ockeying for the American Presidency鈥� and an assistant professor of political science at Villanova University in Pennsylvania.

Ms. Brown points out that more than 300 seats 鈥� the vast majority 鈥� in the US House of Representatives, are not even considered competitive. This, she says, allows both parties to govern from the middle of their ideological base. For Republicans that means southern conservatism, and for Democrats it means East- and West-coast liberalism.

鈥淭he US House is supposed to represent the public mood, but it does not, it represents each party鈥檚 mood,鈥� she says.

Gerrymandering is an issue now because every state in America redraws its district lines next year based on this year鈥檚 US Census figures.

And on Nov. 2, California voters will decide how or whether to move ahead on redistricting reform that began here in 2008 with the narrow passage of Proposition 11. An amendment to the California Constitution, Prop. 11 authorized the creation of a 14-member California Citizens Redistricting Commission, which took over the state Legislature鈥檚 responsibility for drawing state voting districts.

On the ballot this year are two competing measures: Prop. 20 would expand Prop. 11 by empowering the citizens commission to reapportion US Congressional districts as well, while Prop. 27 would eliminate the commission altogether, returning authority for drawing state legislative district lines to the Legislature. If both measures were to pass, whichever measure got the most votes would win.

National impact

The result could reverberate from coast to coast, say experts.

鈥淚f California votes to add Congress to the responsibilities of its Redistricting Commission, then it is likely that other states will follow its lead,鈥� says Robert Stern, president of the Center for Governmental Studies in Los Angeles. 鈥淚n fact, if enough states have independent commissions, it is possible that Congress could pass legislation requiring all states to have independent commissions to draw Congressional lines in 2021.鈥�

Barbara O鈥機onnor, director of the Institute for Study of Politics and Media at California State University, Sacramento, says, 鈥淎dding congressional districts to the newly formed redistricting commission would go a long way to making California elections fair in representing real communities in California.鈥�

Villanova鈥檚 Brown says that California redistricting reform would be an 鈥渁larm clock, waking up other parts of the country.鈥�

鈥淢any people feel like politics is rigged and rigged by the parties, and it鈥檚 hard to say they are necessarily wrong when you look at gerrymandering practices,鈥� she says.

No major polls have been conducted to show where voters stand, but 鈥淵es on 20鈥� officials express confidence, saying the passage of Prop. 11 two years ago after previous failures is evidence of a trend in voters鈥� sentiments.

鈥淰oters already approved an independent commission in 2008 and now we are just asking them to add Congressional districts so we can hold all our officials accountable,鈥� says Susan Shafer, spokeswoman for 鈥淵es on 20/No on 27.鈥� 鈥淲e think they鈥檝e already sent a signal that they don鈥檛 want to return to the days when politicians chose their districts and those of their friends.鈥�

The Center for Governmental Studies鈥� Mr. Stern disagrees, pointing both to firmly-entrenched political forces that will dig in their heels and to voters鈥� current penchants.

鈥淐alifornia Congressmembers will be quaking in their boots if Prop. 20 passes because the new commission will not be taking seniority into account when drawing the lines in 2011,鈥� he says. If the measure passes, he says, 鈥�2012 will be much more competitive than past elections, and it is entirely possible that some members will not have seats from which to run or be placed together in the same district.鈥�

But this does not mean he thinks the opposing measure will pass, either.

鈥淚 expect both Prop. 20 and 27 to be defeated," he says, "since California voters are in a very negative mood.鈥�