How technology is harming American democracy - Yahoo Finance

What in the world is wrong with Congress?

There are many theories, ranging from the flood of money into politics to a coarsening, Kardashianesque society. But here’s one cause you may not have thought of: the same digital technology that brought us the Internet, smartphones and GPS.

Former Democratic Sen. George Mitchell of Maine cites technology as the leading factor behind the decline of Congress during the last 25 years. “Technology, which has so much enhanced our lives, can also be used for not good purposes,” he tells Yahoo Finance in the video above. “Technology has enabled a far more political drawing of Congressional district lines.”

Mitchell, who was Senate Majority Leader from 1989 to 1995, is talking about redistricting, which happens every 10 years following the decennial Census. “For most of our nation’s history,” Mitchell says, “Congressional districts were drawn on county lines or municipal lines or ward lines—natural boundaries. Now they’re drawn with precision—they’re squiggly—they connect people who live far away and have nothing in common.”

Such “gerrymandering” is nothing new: Incumbent political parties have always sought ways to solidify their power through electoral machinations and many other means. What is new is the toolkit they have at their disposal? Data analytics that allow parties to calculate party affiliation and voting proclivity down to the level of neighborhoods, streets and even individual addresses. Computers can then spit out redrawn district maps optimized to guarantee one party’s advantage.

Some of the most gerrymandered districts, such as Ohio’s 9^th and North Carolina’s 4^th, look like electoral blotches snaking narrowly through the state, with occasional sharp turns that follow no geographical or cultural patterns. What lawmakers have done is group voters into blocs that will be reliably Republican or Democrat no matter who the candidate is.

In 90% of Congressional districts, the winning party in November is essentially known in advance, because the district is reliably red or blue. That means the only contest comes in the primary election, among candidates fighting to be the chosen party’s nominee. Far fewer people vote in primaries than in general elections, and they tend to be more ideological, more rigid and less bipartisan. They typically vote for candidates with the same qualities. So nominees end up being more rigid members of Congress, with strong job security to boot. And some of them graduate to the Senate, bringing the same hostility to compromise.

The demise of the republic isn’t a certainty. Mitchell cites efforts in 16 states, such as Iowa and California, to better police the redrawing of Congressional districts for purely political purposes. After the 2020 Census, he says, we might see “the beginning of a decline in partisanship.” And the same technology that lets parties and state legislatures rig districts can be used to establish more natural or “fairer” districts where candidates can’t rely on party affiliation alone to win, and must appeal to at least some voters from the other party. What technology wrecks, it might be able to fix.

Rick Newman’s latest book is Liberty for All: A Manifesto for Reclaiming Financial and Political Freedom. Follow him on Twitter: @rickjnewman.

 

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