Slar
16 Aug 2005, 12:50 PM
Linkity link (http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050816/NEWS01/508160354/-1/CINCI)
Incumbents almost never lose in House
WASHINGTON - Only one House incumbent from Kentucky has lost a bid for re-election in the last decade. In Ohio, a state with substantially more House members than Kentucky, the same holds true. One reason for the lack of turnover is that congressional districts in both states are drawn up in a highly partisan process that's designed to keep incumbents safe, or at least make sure the same party continues to control the seat.
Several lawmakers in Congress - and a separate coalition of public policy groups in Ohio - want to change that. They want independent commissions, instead of elected officials, to be in charge of redrawing House districts every 10 years. If they succeed, the result could be closer elections, higher turnout, more upsets by challengers and a political system more in touch with regular Americans, supporters say.
Nationally, last year's congressional elections were the least competitive in history, with far more landslides and uncontested races than nail-biters, according to a report by FairVote. Out of 435 House races, only seven incumbents lost their seats to challengers and only 13 seats switched from one party to the other, the group found. Fewer than 5 percentage points decided just 10 elections. In Ohio, all 18 House members were re-elected, and the average margin of victory was 39 percentage points.
Every 10 years, after the Census Bureau completes its survey of the U.S. population, House districts are redrawn to reflect changes in where people live. For years, state legislatures in Ohio and Kentucky have done the mapmaking - leaving the process open to political maneuverings designed to give one party an edge. A handful of states - Arizona, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, New Jersey and Washington - use independent commissions to draw districts. Others have laws to prevent unusually drawn districts from being adopted. In Iowa, for example, counties can't be split between two House seats.
But in the states where politicians draw the lines, the districts often end up looking like ink blot tests - with borders that snake along highways and zigzag to grab chunks of different counties to help incumbents keep their voters together. With computer programs that analyze voting patterns and demographic data, mapmakers design districts almost guaranteed to elect members of a particular party. In the process, cities like Cincinnati end up getting split down the middle, so neighbors who share the same local problems and concerns can wind up being represented by different lawmakers.
Leaders of both parties in the House have been reluctant to endorse a plan that could make their members more vulnerable in future elections. A hearing on the issue hasn't even been scheduled.
More info (http://www.house.gov/tanner/legislation_redistricting2.htm)
I plan to contact my congressperson in support of HR 2642. That is all.
Incumbents almost never lose in House
WASHINGTON - Only one House incumbent from Kentucky has lost a bid for re-election in the last decade. In Ohio, a state with substantially more House members than Kentucky, the same holds true. One reason for the lack of turnover is that congressional districts in both states are drawn up in a highly partisan process that's designed to keep incumbents safe, or at least make sure the same party continues to control the seat.
Several lawmakers in Congress - and a separate coalition of public policy groups in Ohio - want to change that. They want independent commissions, instead of elected officials, to be in charge of redrawing House districts every 10 years. If they succeed, the result could be closer elections, higher turnout, more upsets by challengers and a political system more in touch with regular Americans, supporters say.
Nationally, last year's congressional elections were the least competitive in history, with far more landslides and uncontested races than nail-biters, according to a report by FairVote. Out of 435 House races, only seven incumbents lost their seats to challengers and only 13 seats switched from one party to the other, the group found. Fewer than 5 percentage points decided just 10 elections. In Ohio, all 18 House members were re-elected, and the average margin of victory was 39 percentage points.
Every 10 years, after the Census Bureau completes its survey of the U.S. population, House districts are redrawn to reflect changes in where people live. For years, state legislatures in Ohio and Kentucky have done the mapmaking - leaving the process open to political maneuverings designed to give one party an edge. A handful of states - Arizona, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, New Jersey and Washington - use independent commissions to draw districts. Others have laws to prevent unusually drawn districts from being adopted. In Iowa, for example, counties can't be split between two House seats.
But in the states where politicians draw the lines, the districts often end up looking like ink blot tests - with borders that snake along highways and zigzag to grab chunks of different counties to help incumbents keep their voters together. With computer programs that analyze voting patterns and demographic data, mapmakers design districts almost guaranteed to elect members of a particular party. In the process, cities like Cincinnati end up getting split down the middle, so neighbors who share the same local problems and concerns can wind up being represented by different lawmakers.
Leaders of both parties in the House have been reluctant to endorse a plan that could make their members more vulnerable in future elections. A hearing on the issue hasn't even been scheduled.
More info (http://www.house.gov/tanner/legislation_redistricting2.htm)
I plan to contact my congressperson in support of HR 2642. That is all.