The FINANCIAL — Only 4% of Americans giving a positive assessment of the overall job Congress is doing, according to the Harris Poll.
And yet when the midterm election season arrives next November, many in the political community are predicting that not much will change. While unpopular as a whole on a national level, many members of the House of Representatives hail from districts where the deck has been carefully stacked in their favor through redistricting – often in favor of one political party or the other. The process is often referred to as "Gerrymandering," and a recent Harris Poll indicates that Americans may have had their fill of it, with majorities across party lines affirming a desire to see the power to influence district boundaries out of the hands of those with a vested interest in the results.
In fact, over seven in ten Americans believe (71% – 48% strongly so) that those who stand to benefit from redrawing congressional districts should not have a say in how they are redrawn. And while Americans are regaled on a regular basis with tales of partisan divisions, U.S. adults are united in this perspective, showing comparable views when compared by both political affiliation (74% Republicans, 73% Democrats, 71% independents) and underlying political philosophy (69% Conservative, 71% Moderate, 73% Liberal), according to Harris Interactive Inc.
For most states – those with adequate populations for more than one member of the House of Representatives – district lines are examined every ten years to see if they need to be redrawn, after the decennial census. The idea is to make sure districts' populations are being accurately represented, and the next such opportunity will come along after the census of 2020. But when that time comes, how will the process actually be implemented? How would it be implemented if it happened today? And, perhaps more importantly, how do Americans think it should be implemented? While most states put the decision in the hands of their lawmakers – with the majority party holding the majority of the power – only 35% of Americans identify this as the method most states use; the highest percentage (41%) are unsure.
But how do Americans think states should make such decisions? Hint – not the way most do it now, as only 2% of U.S. adults say that the decision should rest with state legislatures, with majority party having the most say in the process. The highest percentage – by an exponential margin – feels that an independent commission emphasizing geography over political affiliations should to so (50%), according to Harris Interactive Inc.
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