Partisan politics should not have a place in redistricting decisions | Commentary
Dear Sedgwick County Board of Commissioners,
As a trusted name in non-partisan political action, the League of Women Voters Wichita-Metro takes its role seriously and advocates strongly to keep partisan politics out of the decisions that affect voting rights in our community.
We hold firmly to the belief that the redistricting process (at every level of government) should be wrestled from the hands of those who would be most likely to make decisions solely based on their ability to keep their (or their party’s) elected seats.
This process should be thoughtful and thorough, especially as redistricting resolutions have ramifications for decades. This is an important, difficult task and should be approached in a way that ensures it cannot be corrupted by partisan politics.
Instead of a thoughtful and thorough process, the BoCC set a timeline that limited public review, comment, and revisions to the proposed maps to almost exactly a month during one of the busiest times of the year for most people, including a major holiday.
These are not just lines or dots on a map. These are people - with interests, struggles, jobs, schools, and families. They deserve the time, information, and opportunity to understand and have a voice in processes like these that will affect them for years to come.
By choosing a two-party Redistricting Committee solely based on party affiliation and not taking any other demographic information into consideration, especially after only forming that Committee under pressure from a non-partisan group like the League of Women Voters, you risk disenfranchising not only the one-third of voters in Sedgwick County that are unaffiliated with the Republican or Democratic parties, but also every other group of marginalized voters in your constituency.
In order to provide some standards for the BoCC’s redistricting process, the League of Women Voters Wichita-Metro offers the following considerations:
1. Guidelines for new districts should not facilitate “incumbent protection.” The practice of including voter registration/vote results and related information in the redistricting database should not be continued.
2. The BoCC should allow for individuals and groups to submit community of interest maps for inclusion in the redistricting database as overlays. The goal of this is to provide easy access to community of interest information for the mapmakers drawing the districts. In addition, the rules should accommodate submission of proposed district maps in formats easily accessible by the public.
3. The League appreciated the opportunity to provide input during the recent Town Hall and urges you to encourage more opportunities for public input and to advertise them more widely. As evidenced in the first town hall and the subsequent happenings, there are important issues on the hearts and minds of the citizens of Sedgwick County, including:
- Partisan bias
- Equity and inclusion
- Community connectedness
- Education
- Voter suppression
4. We urge the BoCC to ensure that new information is made directly available to the public. In addition, the League requests a more streamlined and widely publicized process for submission of maps and related material. Such improvements will contribute to transparency and public participation in creating fair districts for Sedgwick County residents.
Finally, we strongly urge that the Sedgwick County Board of Commissioners establish a policy at this time in order to prevent this kind of rushed timeline and partisan stronghold from happening in the future. It is our recommendation that an ordinance be written into the BoCC bylaws establishing that a non-partisan review committee be established for the redistricting process every 10 years upon receipt of new census data. This committee should have ample time to review data, draw maps, and receive public comment before making an official recommendation to the BoCC. The four points above should be considered as recommendations for future Committees as well.
The only way to correct the dangerous behavior we’ve seen this year is to establish better policy and practice going forward. We know better and we must do better in order to empower voters across Sedgwick County.