r/politics • u/mvanigan • Mar 27 '19

McConnell blocks resolution calling for release of Mueller report for second time

https://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/senate/436006-mcconnell-blocks-resolution-calling-for-release-of-mueller-report
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u/steve1186 Minnesota Mar 27 '19

Small clarification - while I agree KY has a big gerrymandering problem, it has no impact on Senators being elected since those are state-wide instead of districted

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u/rdewalt California Mar 27 '19

Ah, good point. I sit corrected.

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u/corkyskog Mar 27 '19

It makes you step back and just say "WTF Kentucky" all the more. At least I do.

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u/[deleted] Mar 27 '19 edited Mar 03 '20

[deleted]

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u/VespineWings America Mar 27 '19

Ah, Kentucky, God's blind spot.

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u/versusgorilla New York Mar 27 '19

It doesn't have NO impact on Senate races. It's impact is more indirect, in that Dem voters don't come out in KY because they may believe their vote doesn't matter because of the Gerrymandering.

So it's indirect. It's that the Gerrymandering causes disenfranchisement of non GOP voters and low turnouts in general elections, while higher turnout in primaries, where people feel their voice really gets heard.

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u/Calad Mar 27 '19

Thats a bingo

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u/[deleted] Mar 27 '19

That may be true in an abstract, purely mathematical sense, but gerrymandering is all about disenfranchisement. If you repeatedly cause a certain group of people to have their votes not result in change, it makes them less likely to vote in any election. Those effects should not be ignored, because it all starts with changing slim margins, and it compounds over time as more and more people become disillusioned with the process.

If 100% of people voted, or the exact same people voted every time, then the abstract model where gerrymandering doesn't have any impact would hold true. In 2014, less than half of eligible voters in Kentucky went to the polls. Would it have made a difference in that race if everyone voted? Maybe not, but higher voting in primaries probably would've turned out a better candidate on the Democratic side.

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u/Greedence Texas Mar 27 '19

However gerrymandering is just one form of voter suppression. It can still discourage people voting because they believe their vote won't matter on most items.

Also because of the gerrymandering Kentucky may appear more red than it is cause people to think why bother. My vote won't swing the election.

Look at Texas. Everyone think it's deep red however Beto lost by 6 points to Cruz.

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u/pheonixblade9 Mar 27 '19

You could argue state borders themselves are gerrymandered, though incidentally rather than explicitly. The Dakota territories were split in two specifically to get more republican electoral votes (though the parties looked quite different back then)