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16 February 2012 Attorney General says deal made in Texas redistricting, some opposed

In San Antonio, Texas, residents are reacting to a proposal that wants to redistrict for voting purposes giving two out of the four new congressional seats to Hispanic-dominated districts. A compromise like this greatly affects Republican GOP presidential primary elections leaving many other minority groups enraged. Republican legislative leaders say they drew the lines to benefit their candidates, while minorities feel they are being discriminated by having them limit voting power. These opposing groups know that the House could be affected by the way these seats are divided ultimately affecting who will run Washington. Attorney General, Greg Abbott, stated that in this version of the plan there are very few changes to the Legislature’s original map, which in turn, should make everyone happy. While Abbott says many have accepted the maps, the ones that are upset have sued the state claiming it was no deal at all (Attorney 1). The Democratic Representative argues, “ if you tell me we’re going to get these seats at the expense of another district, that’s not a win.” (Attorney 1). For now the proposal sits in Washington waiting to be approved legally due to the states historical background of discrimination. If the court rejects the compromise the judge could order two elections; one for the presidential election and then one for state/congressional elections that would decided where the map lines would be drawn in (Attorney 1). The idea of redrawing lines to benefit a certain demographic such as race, religions or class became relevant in 1812 when Governor Elbridge Gerry signed a bill allowing the redistricting of Massachusetts for the good of his Republican party. It became widely popular and found success in non-proportional systems. This idea later became known as Gerrymandering because the boundary lines represented the shape of a salamander (Wikipedia 1). In todays world Gerrymandering still exists in states like Texas but also in Nations all around the world. In 2011, Hungary decided to redraw the voting districts. Politicians took into account the regional results of past elections and redesigned districts in favor of right-wing politics. The law has already been passed by FIDESZ- majority Parliament (Wikipedia 1). This idea has created a world in which politics can almost decided the out come. Due to a decision made in 2006 by the United States Supreme Court, Democratic and Republican dominated areas legislature can change district lines in a snap. If a candidate has a strong support of African-American’s the opposing party will do everything in its power to get the lines moved in order to tip the scale in their favor. From 1812 to present gerrymandering has almost become a part of the presidential race and can affect majorities in places like the House and Congress. These changes in voting lines have left many minority groups having a limited voice in elections resulting in many furious people. Candidates are looking for the win and the perfectly legal gerrymandering gives them the opportunity to take controlling the vote to a whole other level. As Americans everyone should be granted the equal right of a vote for whichever candidate they choose. This major demographic change is affecting minorities and even majorities in the polls, which is not the way America should be run.
 * Summary **
 * Relevance **
 * Explanation **
 * Questions: **


 * 1) How do we stop this act that has been around for hundreds of years?
 * 2) Are Political Candidate ignoring a basic right of equal rights in limiting the amount of minority votes?
 * 3) How do minority groups plan to handle future situations similar to the one in Texas?
 * 4) If gerrymanding had not been passed how would the political world be affected?
 * 5) Other than to sue and take the case to federal court, what is a better way to deal with the redrawing of the lines?


 * Bibliography **

"Attorney General Says Deal Made In Texas Redistricting, Some Opposed | Fox News." //Fox News - Breaking News Updates | Latest News Headlines | Photos & News Videos//.Web. 16 Feb. 2012. .

"Center for Voting and Democracy." //FairVote - Home//. Web. 16 Feb. 2012. .