RE: 2016 Elections
May 1, 2015 at 9:09 pm
(This post was last modified: May 1, 2015 at 9:18 pm by Hatshepsut.)
Elizabeth Drew in New York Review of Books notes that Republicans are using voting restrictions (valid photo ID, etc.) to pare the opposition's margins, as Demo voters among minority groups and the elderly are more likely to be excluded by the provisions. The number of voters affected, while relatively small, can nonetheless turn close elections and may have done so in North Carolina's 2014 Senate race.
This is in addition to the usual gerrymandering. Utah carved its sole Democratic enclave in Salt Lake City into three pieces so that every Democrat now votes in a House district that is overwhelmingly of the Cowboy Caucus. Reapportionment got rid of the pesky former District 2 that occasionally went blue, ensuring a solid red Congressional delegation for eternity to come.
This is in addition to the usual gerrymandering. Utah carved its sole Democratic enclave in Salt Lake City into three pieces so that every Democrat now votes in a House district that is overwhelmingly of the Cowboy Caucus. Reapportionment got rid of the pesky former District 2 that occasionally went blue, ensuring a solid red Congressional delegation for eternity to come.
