Squaring a salamander

Politics | How one state learned to take the politicking out of redistricting | Joel Belz

DES MOINES— It's about time," sighed long-time Republican activist Gerry Salmon when he heard last June that the U.S. Supreme Court had approved most of a controversial congressional redistricting plan in Texas. "Now it's our turn," Salmon crowed softly.

"And just how long do you expect our turn to last?" asked Salmon's friend and fellow activist, Ginny Fost. "Easy come, easy go, I say."

More and more American voters may be embracing Fost's cynicism about the whole cycle of reshaping and reapportioning congressional districts every 10 years to reflect shifting population patterns. To many, it's nothing but a huge game of power (and sometimes race-based) politics.

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October 07, 2006, Vol. 21, No. 38

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