Tony Stark

Gerrymandering is the antithesis of democracy.

This is good news however it may be short-lived due to an incoming Republican majority on North Carolina’s Supreme Court and future SCOTUS decisions.

All elections matter. State-level judicial races aren’t as glamorous as some, but they certainly do impact your life. And in case someone tries to tell you “both parties are the same” today or any other day, they aren’t. #NorthCarolina #FairMaps #EndGerrymandering

North Carolina justices: State Senate map must be drawn again | WUNC
https://www.wunc.org/politics/2022-12-16/north-carolina-justices-state-senate-map-drawn-gerrymandering

North Carolina justices: State Senate map must be drawn again

The court's Democratic justices composed the majority. Those justices upheld the House plan drawn by the General Assembly and a congressional map that the same trial judge panel drew up. All three of these maps were used to conduct last month's elections.

WUNC
Dec 17, 2022 at 2:12pmWeb
Show threadOld Hippie ⓋDec 17, 2022
@TonyStark There should be a Federal law abolishing #gerrymandering and establishing nonpartisan state commissions to decide districts. #EndGerrymandering
Show threadTony StarkDec 17, 2022
@old_hippie No argument here. Anyone who cares about their vote counting should be against #gerrymandering. It’s fun, I suppose, when your party has the pen but not so much when things turn, which they inevitably do.
Show threadGlenda SmithDec 17, 2022
@old_hippie @TonyStark I agree!
Show threadChilled MainerDec 17, 2022
@old_hippie @TonyStark
I second this. Gerrymandering enables extreme partisanship and rewards party-over-country ideology. It’s a threat to our democracy.
Show threadJayschDec 17, 2022
@old_hippie @TonyStark
There should be federal laws against any type of voter suppression, including gerrymandering!
Show threaddonDec 17, 2022
@old_hippie @TonyStark That's how it is in Colorado.
Show threadSchuyler DDec 17, 2022

@TonyStark

#EndGerrymandering
The NC courts used a great principle from #mathematics

We might lose NC but a SupCrt election in the spring in Wisconsin could help reverse the R-locked legislature there.

Donate to WisDems!

Show threadRoberto Da CostaDec 18, 2022
@TonyStark There’s no recourse for voters if they don’t like the job their officials are doing with gerrymandering. That’s why everyone should care.
Show threadAgoraDec 18, 2022
@Sunspot @TonyStark Gerrymandering is cheating and undemocratic.
Show threadvolkrisDec 19, 2022

@Sunspot

Well, it’s worth highlighting that there is an important recourse, even if it’s a weak one: depending on the particular state, the recourse is voting out the state officials doing the bad job.

YES, that absolutely brings in the complications of voting out people with fingers on the scales of voting, but it’s not nothing. Gerrymandering is not a perfect system, especially with low voter participation rates.

But I just always like to emphasize that people can and should not ignore the performance of local and state officials.

Too often they get a pass.

Show threadCarolynJJan 7, 2023
@TonyStark
Key election in April for WI Supreme Court just for this reason. If the Court flips WI gerrymandering may also be short lived….