EDITORIAL: If you want redistricting to be done properly you have to get involved – Yahoo News

Jun. 22Area residents have the opportunity to directly participate in the state's redistricting process when the House Legislative and Congressional Reapportionment Committee and the Senate Reapportionment and Redistricting Committee hold a joint town hall hearing in Dalton on Wednesday, June 30.

Why is this important?

According to NPR, a "redistricting guru" (Thomas Hofeller) put it this way: "Usually the voters get to pick the politicians. In redistricting, the politicians get to pick the voters!"

That sounds like something you should be extremely interested in.

The Dalton hearing will be from 5 to 7 p.m. in room 144 of the Goodroe Auditorium at Dalton State College, 656 College Drive.

"During each town hall-style hearing, members of the committees will hear and receive input from residents regarding the state's redistricting process," the state House of Representatives said in a media advisory.

The Dalton hearing is just one of several being held around the state. The hearings will be live-streamed on the Georgia General Assembly website (https://www.legis.ga.gov/schedule/all). Written testimony from Georgia residents can be submitted using a form at https://tinyurl.com/y6hsvfda.

The League of Women Voters of the U.S. has an article titled "10 Things You Should Know About Redistricting" on its website (https://www.lwv.org/blog/10-things-you-should-know-about-redistricting).

Some highlights:

"Every 10 years, after the collection of the decennial census data, states redraw their state and congressional district lines. These districts determine how communities are represented at the local, state and federal levels. The redistricting process is fundamental in influencing how our government works for us."

"Redistricting determines who appears on your ballot, where you can vote, and can influence whether your elected officials respond to your needs."

"Redistricting is vulnerable to gerrymandering. Gerrymandering is the intentional manipulation of the redistricting process by the people in political power to keep or change political power. This can happen in a number of ways, such as by consolidating communities into one district, which gives that community only one representative in the legislature. Or by dividing the community across districts and ensuring that the community is always the minority and less likely to be adequately represented by their representatives."

Story continues

"Racial gerrymandering is the intentional manipulation of the redistricting process to reduce the political power of a certain racial group."

"Partisan gerrymandering is when districts are drawn in a way to give an unfair advantage to one political party, group or incumbent."

"We can curb gerrymandering through increased public input, accountability and transparent processes."

That's where you come in. It is up to you to demand fair, nonpartisan redistricting practices. With history as our guide, we know that politicians, as the League has pointed out, tend to abuse redistricting for their own partisan purposes.

Don't let them get away with it. They are asking for your participation. Whether that is a sincere request is up for debate.

But take them at their words. If you can, attend this redistricting hearing in Dalton. If you cannot attend, use the form to submit your views and demand accountability. And protect your interests by staying involved as the process moves forward.

This is your government. Take ownership of it and demand that it represent you fairly.

See the article here:

EDITORIAL: If you want redistricting to be done properly you have to get involved - Yahoo News