With the Republicans recently capturing a huge amount of seats in the House of Representatives, they will have a major advantage when it comes to redistricting in the years to come. Republicans will undoubtedly attempt to redraw districts to make them uncompetitive and favorably drawn for their party. This strategy will cause a great deal of frustration for Democrats, but according to Thomas Brunell in his article examining redistricting, uncompetitive districts with likeminded voters are beneficial for constituency service and voter satisfaction. This may be difficult to pull off in Arizona’s First District, as it is very large geographically and has some interesting demographics.
Brunell’s article raises interesting observations about redistricting that are not always considered by the public. Many people might assume that redistricting is just another way for corrupt politicians to ensure they can be re-elected and that their party can maintain power. However, Brunell argues that map makers should draw districts that pack as many like minded partisans as possible, considering constituents are much happier with their representatives when they voted for them. Brunell points out that “trying to draw ‘competitive districts’ effectively cracks ideologically congruent voters into separate districts, which has the effect of increasing the absolute number of voters who will be unhappy with the outcome and dissatisfied with their representative.” It seems as though the ultimate goal for representatives, regardless of party, is to please their constituents and get re-elected, so perhaps Brunell’s theory could help raise public satisfaction of government if employed properly.
Brunell’s ideas about redistricting are thought provoking, but in a district like Arizona’s First it could be difficult to successfully implement. The district covers a huge area in Arizona, more than half of the area of an already large state. Furthermore, there is a significant amount of variety demographically that could be problematic to map makers. While the district is 65.8% white, Hispanic populations make up 16.4% and Native Americans are 22.6%. It would most likely take a drastic alteration of Arizona’s congressional districts to create a partisan congruous district in Arizona’s First.
