Just say no to gerrymandering

An editorial written by the Queens Chronicle highlights a 2012 New York Redistricting Project where students were able to propose ideas for state Senate maps and express their opinions on how political lines should be drawn in order to meet the needs of groups with similar interests. Senator Gianaris believes that this demonstrates how excellent redistricting proposals can be made in a short period of time.

And the winner is ... districts that are not gerrymandered.

The 2012 New York Redistricting Project unveiled this week the winning Congressional and state Senate maps drawn by students who wanted to voice what they hope happens at the legislative level —specifically, that political lines will be untangled so incumbents will not be unfairly favored and groups with similar interests could stay together.

[...]

State Sen. Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria), who has been a proponent of the project, said it shows that members of the general public can, contrary to what he said “defenders of the status quo” argue, submit “excellent proposals within a pretty short time frame.”

Gianaris has sponsored a bill, supported by a number of his Queens colleagues, that would permanently create an independent redistricting commission.

“I’d like to see fairness in this process,” Gianaris said. “We have a process that’s controlled by the majorities, and they want to damage the minorities.”

Read the full article here.