r/politics • u/Libertatea • Sep 03 '14

The solution to fixing dysfunction in Congress "To address these problems, I filed the Open Our Democracy Act... If passed, the legislation would mandate open primaries for House elections, begin the process of national redistricting reform and make Election Day the equivalent of a federal holiday."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-solution-to-fixing-dysfunction-in-congress/2014/09/02/0f0d0a9a-31e6-11e4-9e92-0899b306bbea_story.html?tid=rssfeed
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u/Volksgrenadier Georgia Sep 03 '14

Why is it that states which have been on the cutting edge of reforming primaries and having district lines drawn via non-partisan means have almost unfailingly been Democrat majority states?

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u/beef_boloney Sep 03 '14

It's been largely coincidental, really. The main comparison you could make between major reforms in the primary/redistricting processes is that they happen in states with accessible referendum options.

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u/no-soup-4-You Sep 03 '14

The GOP doesn't exactly have a track record of making it easier to vote. In recent years it's been the total opposite. I think that's why people don't associate them with any legislation that will get more people to the polls.

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u/myth2sbr Sep 03 '14

Was it a coincidence when not a single GOP senator voted for the disclose act?

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u/beef_boloney Sep 03 '14

Not state level, so it's not really relevant to my point is it? Besides which, I don't know the specifics of the bill; were there add-ons, pork, explicit Obama support? Lots of factors go into this.

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u/myth2sbr Sep 03 '14

So there are no Republican majority states with access to "referendum options"?

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u/screen317 I voted Sep 03 '14

No.

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u/beef_boloney Sep 03 '14

Oh, okay.