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Shaping the Policy Debate Boundary-by-Boundary
When Minnesota’s legislative borders are redrawn, who will do the job and how many of us will actually pay attention?
Unlike the shutdown, which thrived on both national attention and a whiff of drama, re-districting is a tedious process traditionally managed by insiders with extensive political savvy and ferocious partisan motivation.
It’s not always an exciting topic, but legislative boundaries are vitally important in shaping the policy debate. Therefore, it’s not something we should leave up to the experts alone without strong public advocates carefully watching the process.
Shaping a district to concentrate wealth, poverty, age or certain voting demographics produces misguided policy consequences. Transit issues might not get much voice in areas that have high wealth concentrations, even though there are pockets of people that might rely on busses and rail for daily activities.
In areas with low concentrations of school-aged children, policy debates might under represent education policy.
Today there are tools giving the public some insight into how legislative boundaries might get shaped. With a little background research, folks can see how that might impact the policy debate.
Public Mapping Project is one such piece of software that can help citizens draw and evaluate potential redistricting maps.
Countless good government groups have posted very helpful listings of resource materials, many of which are accessible from the busy voter’s desktop or for a common group read or view.
Lists from Americans for Redistricting Reform and resources suggested by the Minnesota Legislature’s Geographic Information Services offer great background – and there are many more. Voter education groups stand ready and able to support with information, ideas and energy.
The Brookings Institution just issued a Status Report on Congressional Redistricting. A panel of experts viewed the results coming in from the states on redistricting activities, then discussed how the rest of the process is likely to unfold. Panelists focused on evidence of partisan or bipartisan gerrymandering, the outcome of transparency and public mapping initiatives such as PMP, and minority redistricting. The video and transcript are posted.
The recent state shutdown and federal debt ceiling debate were personal, immediate, and painful. Redistricting is remote in time, geography and impact. Why are the insiders so eager to control the process and to keep the public at bay? And why are Minnesotans not knocking – or more – at those locked doors?
Posted in News & Notes | Related Topics: Government Policy Minnesota Cities