Reich writes: "Gerrymandering is a form of voter suppression. The new extreme form of it, such as in Wisconsin, makes a mockery of democracy. The Supreme Court must reject it."
Former Clinton labor secretary Robert Reich. (photo: Steve Russell/Toronto Star)
Gerrymandering Is Voter Suppression
18 September 17
n October 3, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in "Gill v. Whitford," which challenges the constitutionality of gerrymandering. The specific case involves Wisconsin, where the Republican State Assembly redrew voting districts after Republicans gained control of the state government for the first time in more than 40 years -- allowing them to entrench themselves. In 2012, Republicans won 48.6 percent of the statewide vote for Assembly candidates but captured 60 of the Assembly’s 99 seats.
Kudos to several current and former Republican officials who have filed a friend-of-the-court brief against gerrymandering: Senator John McCain of Arizona; Gov. John R. Kasich of Ohio; Bob Dole, the former Republican Senate leader from Kansas and the Republican's 1996 presidential nominee; former Republican senators John C. Danforth of Missouri, Richard G. Lugar of Indiana and Alan K. Simpson of Wyoming; and Arnold Schwarzenegger, former governor of California.
These Republicans have placed the nation over party. They deserve our thanks. I wish more current and former republican politicians would follow their example.
Gerrymandering is a form of voter suppression. The new extreme form of it, such as in Wisconsin, makes a mockery of democracy. The Supreme Court must reject it.
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