Editorial: Redistricting damaging California’s democracy

American democracy has long been held as a model for the world.
But every system has its problems. After the redrawing of voting
district lines after the 2000 Census, only one of
California’s 53 congressional seats will be seriously
contested in the coming election.

The Daily Bruin analyzed voter registration rolls posted on the
Secretary of State’s Web site. In all of California’s
congressional districts, only four of them had less than a 10
percent margin between Republican and Democratic voters.

In other words, voting districts have been drawn by the state
legislature in a way that ensures every district is either
overwhelmingly Republican or overwhelmingly Democratic. The result
is that the congressional races are often easily won.

It’s easy to guess why legislators like noncompetitive
races, but why is no one else concerned?

Surprisingly, Democrats and Republicans in California agree on
the issue.

First, it allows parties to decide where they want to spend most
of their campaign money.

In 2002, Rep. Howard Berman (D-North Hollywood) told The
Associated Press that redistricting “was very much a
calculation of ours to have that money available to help in races
around the country.”

Rep. John Linder (R-Georgia) told The Associated Press the
campaign money could be used in Georgia, West Virginia and other
states, rather than California.

In addition to allowing parties to target their money precisely,
noncompetitive races allow them to divvy up the political spoils
and subtly manipulate the outcome of races.

Despite frequent reports claiming the country is divided, only
30 of 435 races for the House are considered competitive, and
redistricting has contributed greatly to this statistic.

In Texas, Republicans are estimated to enjoy a 60 percent
majority overall. But Republicans took a majority of the Texas
House for the first time in 130 years in 2002 ““ after a hotly
contested redistricting leading to allegations that House Majority
leader Tom DeLay sought Enron money to support his map.

Here in California, Rep. Berman’s brother, Rick Berman,
was hired to coordinate redistricting. Rick Berman was paid
$640,000 to help redraw the maps and was accused of cutting Latino
voters out of his brother’s district to solidify that
incumbency.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Berman’s redistricting
was legal, but there is no doubt that California has fewer
competitive races than it has in many years.

To be fair, it is true that voter registration rolls do not
always predict winners. District 20 is 51 percent Democratic and 36
percent Republican.

(Likely because the incumbent Democratic Rep. Calvin Dooley is
retiring.)

California is a state of 35 million people and needs more than
one or two competitive races. Gerrymandering has created bizarre,
oddly shaped districts and has helped weaken our democracy. Voters
deserve more, but it’s hard to believe politicians benefiting
from the system will do anything to change it.