Written by C Gardner Wilson   

By now, RSN readers know that gerrymandering is a cheaters' game, and to end gerrymandering, it must be ended nationwide, not just state by state.

The Florida experience with a grassroots effort to end gerrymandering should have made it clear that not just any amendment or rule against gerrymandering is sufficient. Politicians will find any wiggle room and wedge another gerrymander into that room.

In Florida, even after a 2010 anti-gerrymandering amendment to the state constitution, Florida remained the most gerrymandered state in America. That gerrymander handed the Republicans the 2012 Florida election, and continues to influence both the 2014 election and future elections, as well. And, even though Florida Republicans stand formally convicted of gerrymandering, it is the Republicans who still are drawing the election districts in Florida.

The problem with most of the currently suggested rules against gerrymandering is that these suggested rules still give wiggle room to the cheaters. And, cheaters can wiggle another gerrymander, again and again. With each gerrymander, time passes, elections come and elections go, and these elections continue to be determined by the current gerrymander.

It is not enough to establish a "committee" to oversee the drawing of election districts, because that just adds another layer of corruption. It is not enough to have some vague mathematical formula determine election districts, because these formulas can be manipulated, and we certainly are not mathematically adept enough to be able to understand such manipulations.

But, if we require that election districts be rectangular, and we require that district lines run only north, south, east, and west, then we can just look at any election map and see whether these requirements have been met. Additionally, if we require that overall "squareness" be "maximized," then we would have the best of two worlds. In order to maximize overall "squareness," all election districts would be required to be as square as possible, and that would limit the number of ways in which any state could draw the required rectangular districts.

So, this is what my End Gerrymandering, Now! petition is all about. It is still downloadable as a FREE Android App and as a FREE Apple App. It is as easy as GOOGLING (do not BING) "A Truer Democracy App" and then clicking on the Android or Apple link that should have popped right up.

If this App does not start being downloaded and start getting good "app reviews," then it will drop off the radar, and that will be the end of that.

Time marches on. Time is of the essence.