GRASSROOTS EFFORT “VOTERS NOT POLITICIANS” COLLECTING SIGNATURES FROM VOTERS THAT WANT TO BE HEARD

NILES – Area residents are able to learn more this summer about new efforts to make redistricting non-partisan in the state of Michigan. Walter Sorg of “Voters Not Politicians” spoke at the Niles District Library last month, while former Michigan Democratic Party Chairman Mark Brewer will speak in Niles next week.
Brewer’s speech is set for June 19 at 6:30 p.m. at the Niles Senior Citizens Center, 1109 Bell Road. Brewer is a Detroit area attorney who is leading the legal team suing the state of Michigan over what he calls an “unconstitutional partisan gerrymander” that allowed Republicans to consolidate power and stifled the voices of Democratic voters.
Brewer’s lawsuit comes after a federal district court ruled earlier this year that Wisconsin Republicans had redrawn political district boundaries to dilute the voices of Democratic voters. That ruling is expected to be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Gerrymandering is the term used to describe when the boundaries of an electoral district are manipulated to favor one political party over another. In the United States, district boundaries are redrawn every 10 years after the census.
The word comes from a combination of “gerry” referring to an early 19th Century governor of Massachusetts named Elbridge Gerry and “mander” for salamander in reference to the salamander shape of a voting district drawn during his term in office. Gerry was a signer of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. vice-president from 1813-14.
Sorg, a Lansing resident, noted at the May program that the Voters Not Politicians organization is a non-partisan effort. “This is a power to the people campaign,” he said. “There’s no dark money, politicians or unions involved.”
“Both parties have done it (gerrymandering) in Michigan, it’s a matter of whoever has the power at the time to do it,” he said. “… The question is can a creepy lizard eat democracy? The answer is yes, but people can save it.”
His group hopes to collect over 315,000 signatures this summer to put a constitutional amendment proposal on the November 2018 ballot. He described himself as a “policy wonk” and former political reporter.
Their goal is to make sure district boundaries for state senator, state representative and U.S. congress seats are set by an independent commission of citizens rather than the political party in power. “When the last maps were drawn in 2011, it was so secret that the minority party (the Democrats) didn’t know what was is in it until it was signed,” he said.
“We want a fair system where it’s not about winners and losers,” he added. “We will be building in protections to keep it from being partisan. Ours is truly a grassroots effort.”
Sorg quoted former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger who has described gerrymandering as creating an “absurd reality” where one political party draws up district boundaries so that their members can easily get re-elected.
Sorg said it’s more important than ever to address the gerrymandering issue as Michigan is scheduled to lose one Congressional seat after the next census due to a decrease in population. He said the goal is to make sure that district boundaries are drawn fairly so communities aren’t divided.
He spoke of practices such as “kidnapping” and “packing”. With kidnapping, boundary lines are redrawn so that a representative is put into a new district where he or she is likely to lose. With packing, people of one party are packed into a district to ensure that party’s candidate will win.
“Gerrymandering can create non-competitive races so that the decisions are made in primaries rather than the general election,” he said.
He gave examples of Maryland where district boundaries have been distorted to elect Democrats and of Michigan where Republicans ended up winning more seats even though they received fewer votes statewide than Democrats.
Nationwide, 37 states have their state legislatures do the redistricting work while seven states have a committee of politicians do the work. The remaining six states have set up independent commissions made up of Democrats, Republicans and Independents to do the redistricting.
As for solutions, he said the federal courts have acted to strike down situations involving racial gerrymander but have sent cases back to the states to find solutions. In Michigan, he said people aren’t waiting for the legislature to act but are taking matters into their own hands with this ballot initiative.
Sorg asked residents interested in the issue to get involved by joining the organization or signing a petition if contacted. People can learn more about the non-partisan group at www.votersnotpoliticians.com.