A plan to change how the state sets the borders for legislative districts has attracted bipartisan support in the upper chamber of the General Assembly. Senate Bill 27 seeks to overhaul General Assembly redistricting by taking it out of the hands of the legislature, sponsor Sen. Bryan Townsend said. Instead, an independent commission would redraw voting maps without reference to politics. The Democrat of Newark said the idea is to create an unbiased and transparent method of setting boundaries. The legislation proposes a nine-member nonpartisan commission.
“We’ve seen gerrymandering across the country and it’s becoming a huge issue on both sides of the aisle,” Townsend said. “Courts around the country are starting to overrule legislatively drawn districts.” In many states, congressional districts are gerrymandered by the party in power, but the bill would not apply to Delaware’s single district; its single House of Representatives member is elected at large.
… “Delaware [General Assembly] districts do not look anything near as manipulated as congressional districts in many other states around the country,” he said. “I think it’s time for this legislation because we have an opportunity to become a national leader on how to redraw representative districts.”
Full Article: Redistricting reform faces House vote.