Essay On Representative Democracy

America’s democracy was created to serve the will of the people. Therefore, individual citizens vote for those they feel best represent their beliefs into office. Thus, the opinions and views of the American people are proportionally represented and expressed by the government. However, this may not be the case within the legislative branch. More specifically, voters may ultimately not be choosing who represents them in the House of Representatives. Through gerrymandering, politicians are able to legally compromise voter representation for their own political benefit. This blow to democracy needs to be effectively addressed, so that the United States can continue to be respectively referred to as a representative democracy.

Article I, Section 4, Clause 1 of the US Constitution states: “The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing [sic] Senators.” Through this clause, state legislatures are given the power to regulate the “manner” of elections; therefore, they have the power to draw congressional district lines which

determine elected representatives. However, in most states, the party in power has the sole responsibility of drawing congressional lines, and as long as each district is approximately equal in population, districts can be advantageously drawn every ten years.
This power eminently causes gerrymandering where “the party in power in the state legislature redraws election districts to ensure the election or re-election of its own members, while decreasing the political safety of party opponents” (Hebert and Jenkins 544). Rather than reflecting how the citizen’s vote, this strategic redistricting allows politicians to manipulate the outcome of representation for both majority and minority groups prior to an election. Although one party greatly benefits from gerrymandering, this unfortunately leads many states’ citizens to be misrepresented within the House.
However, gerrymandering can be prevented. There are various techniques that have been created and proposed to end this unjust act, but many American citizens are unaware that this big top circus act is even being performed by state legislatures. If citizens do not advocate for accurate representation, politicians won’t be inclined to change. Consequently, this means that citizens must put their Republican and Democratic beliefs to the side, because gerrymandering infringes on both parties. After the American people become more knowledgeable on gerrymandering and how it imposes on voter equality, state legislatures will be compelled to alter their methods.
Aforementioned, there are various methods that state legislatures can enact, once they are coerced, to take congressional redistricting out of politicians’ hands.

First, states can create independent commissions. These commissions would be comprised of appointed independent citizens who would informatively draw congressional lines based on population. Second, state legislatures can use computer-based models and algorithms that would produce results (Hebert and Jenkins 556). However, both of these methods could potentially be exposed to corruption and bias, and they can also cause elections to be uncompetitive which voters find objectionable. This may also lead to slightly skewed representation, but these methods diminish the problem to an

extent.
Surprisingly, the method that would most effectively discontinue politicians from gerrymandering is to hire an individual to gerrymander, but to gerrymander fairly. By paying someone to draw the congressional districts to most accurately represent voters, the issue of politicians drawing lines in favor of their party is removed. Nevertheless, the finding of a qualified person and the policies regarding his or her position would take time to figure out. This solution would also be expensive for each state to implement. Despite time and money, two things the government shouldn’t consider when passing legislation, embracing fair gerrymandering would facilitate fair representation.
The US Constitution allows Congress to pass laws that would prevent biased gerrymandering (Art. I, Sec. 4). Despite this capability, Congress has yet to address the issue on a national level. Some states have attempted to stop gerrymandering, but others are unable to due to the hostility of state legislatures. The United States must push members of Congress to work for the people, and to bring injustices like gerrymandering to an end. The House of Representatives largely influences American legislation. Therefore, it is imperative for the House to accurately and honorably reflect the values and beliefs of those living in each state.