PAR makes redistricting recommendations

The Public Affairs Research Council has released a report outlining ways to improve the political redistricting that will happen in the wake of last year’s census. PAR’s biggest recommendation is to form an independent commission to oversee redistricting after the 2020 census. The good-government group notes that the practice of allowing legislators to redraw their own district lines is too often driven by self-preservation and fraught with conflicts of interest. “Priorities should be placed on the best interests of the voters and their communities rather than on the protection of incumbent and partisan influence,” says Robert Travis Scott, PAR president. Scott notes that if politicians choose their voters, instead of the other way around, the public is at risk for becoming discouraged about voting. Read the rest of PAR’s recommendations here.