The Ills of Gerrymandering and Independent Redistricting Commissions as the Solution
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POLICY ESSAY
THE ILLS OF GERRYMANDERING AND
INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING
COMMISSIONS AS THE SOLUTION
THE HONORABLE ALAN S. LOWENTHAL, PH.D.*
I. INTRODUCTION
There is no greater threat to a democracy than when the voters lack
confidence in their political system. This is exactly what we are experiencing
today. American voters have an ever-increasing feeling that political institu-
tions do not have voters' interests at heart.' Multiple issues contribute to this,
including the increasing influence of dark money in our elections2 and the
emergence of the twenty-four-hour news cycle.' However, perhaps no other
factor has contributed more to negative public perception about voting and
elections than gerrymandering and its side effects. In an age of voter disillu-
sionment with their elected officials, the term gerrymandering has come
to represent more than the malapportionment of political districts for parti-
* Member, United States House of Representatives (D-Cal.). B.A., Hobart and William
Smith Colleges, 1962; Ph.D., The Ohio State University, 1967. Congressman Lowenthal is
serving his fourth term in the U.S. House of Representatives representing California's 47th
District, which encompasses the cities of Long Beach, Signal Hill, Avalon, and parts of Lake-
wood in Los Angeles County and the cities of Los Alamitos, Rossmoor, Cypress, Westminster,
Garden Grove, Buena Park, Anaheim, Midway City, and Stanton in Orange County. He serves
on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and on the House Natural Re-
sources Committee, serving as Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral
Resources. Before being elected to Congress, Congressman Lowenthal served two terms on
the Long Beach City Council, three terms as a California Assemblyman, and two terms as a
California State Senator. He is widely regarded as a leader on environmental, transportation,
human rights, education, and redistricting issues. He moved to Long Beach, California in 1969
where he taught Community Psychology at California State University, Long Beach until
1998. The author wishes to thank Shane Trimmer, Senior Legislative Assistant on his staff, for
his assistance in the research and drafting of this article.
1 See generally Larry Shannon-Missal, Americans Across Party Lines Oppose Common
Gerrymandering Practices, HARRIS POLL (Nov. 7, 2013), https://theharrispoll.com/new-york-
n-y-november-7-2013-ask-a-person-on-the-street-what-they-think-of-congress-and-you-likely-
know-what-sort-of-response-youll-get-the-harris-poll-did-and-the-response-was-more-dismall
[https://perma.cc/PL5X-SEYL].
2See THOMAS E. MANN - ANTHONY CORRADO, BROOKINGS INST., PARTY POLARIZATION
AND CAMPAIGN FINANCE 6 (2014), https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/
Mann-and-CorradParty-Polarization-and-Campaign-Finance.pdf [https://perma.cc/AF4J-
U8XY].
See Matt Levendusky, Are Fox and MSNBC Polarizing America?, WASH. POST: MON-
KEY CAGE (Feb. 3, 2014), https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2014/02/
03/are-fox-and-msnbc-polarizing-america/?utmterm=.edd9cO45d88e [https://perma.cc/
GJR9-QFRA].](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/hjl56&div=4&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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The Ills of Gerrymandering and Independent Redistricting Commissions as the Solution
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