An editorial from The Herald-Dispatch
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — American voters often respond to the broad strokes in politics, whether it is the personality of a candidate or the campaign promises of a better tomorrow.
But as the old saying goes, “the devil is in the details,” and when it comes to power in Washington, no details are more important than how congressional and legislative districts are drawn.
For many years, this has been a very partisan process, handled by state lawmakers. Every 10 years, when new census data is available, the party in power works to draw the districts to its advantage.
The basic strategy is to either dilute your opponent’s supporters by spreading them out across districts or packing them into a smaller number of districts so they are likely to win fewer seats…