Electoral Districting

The Benevolent Dictatorship of Baja LasVegastan divides itself into electoral districts for legislative purposes. The governing body of each of its subdivisions (tributary nations, cities, school districts, and so on) is likewise divided into electoral districts. In this respect, Baja LasVegastan is no different from any other nation.

However, the Benevolent Dictator considers two things to be unwise when drawing district boundaries.

First, it is unwise to destroy the illusion, enjoyed by each subject of the Benevolent Dictator, that:

• he has as much sovereignty over the affairs of the nation as is had by the Benevolent Dictator; and

• as a logical consequence, he has as much sovereignty over the affairs of the nation as is had by any of his fellow-subjects.

The Benevolent Dictator encourages this illusion among his subjects, since the tendency to rebellion is thereby diminished.

This illusion is difficult to maintain, however, when the electoral districts of the Benevolent Dictatorship (and of its subdivisions) have significantly different population sizes, but the same number of elected representatives. Further, it does little good to point out that once -- long ago -- the districts all had the same population sizes.

Second, it is unwise to tolerate gerrymandering, since gerrymandering further reduces the illusion that the subjects are sovereign.

Gerrymandering comes in two forms, and both can thrive even when the electoral districts are equally populous.

• In its first form, gerrymandering artfully draws electoral district boundaries to ensure that favored groups (political, demographic, or otherwise) will have electoral representation which is disproportionate to their numbers. When this happens, the disfavored groups see this structural defect, justly despair of ever attaining meaningful representation, and consider restructuring methods (i.e., rebellion).

• In its second form, gerrymandering artfully draws electoral district boundaries to ensure that any favored politician can be awarded a "safe" district, and that any unfavored politician can be banished to a district in which it will be impossible to win the next election. When this happens, the supporters and opponents of a particular politician quickly come to realize that:

  • their ballots -- even collectively -- have only a small influence on the politician's re-election prospects;
  • the real influence on re-election prospects comes from whomever draws the district boundaries;
  • the politician himself has also already realized this (as has any potential successor to that politician); and

  • the politician himself (and any successor thereunto) therefore has paid -- and will pay -- more attention to the political positions of whomever draws the district boundaries than to the political positions of the subjects whom he nominally represents (or potentially represents).

  Both supporters and opponents of this politician see this structural defect, justly despair of ever attaining meaningful representation, and consider restructuring methods (i.e., rebellion).

The solution is straightforward:

• districting must take place before every election -- and far enough before the election that politicians can select an appropriate district (and move to it, if necessary), but not so far before the election that significant inter-district population changes are likely to occur between the redistricting and the election; and

• the districting process must:

  • produce essentially equally populous districts;

  • be mechanical (that is, non-political); and

  • be easily understood (and supported) by the subjects.

The Benevolent Dictator has therefore imposed the following limitations upon his front organization, the Congress, in the form of a proviso in his front document, the Constitution:

1. All elections for public office, except to fill a vacancy, shall take place in November or December of even-numbered years.
2. All terms of office shall begin on the following January 1, and be for an even number of years.
3. A "region" is a tributary nation (including a "state", "province", "federal district", and the like), or any city, county, school district, or other political subdivision thereof.
4. Every region shall have an electoral districting authority, unless all elected officials are elected at large.
   1. Different regions (for example, a city and a county, or a school district and a house of the state legislature and the federal house of representatives) may establish a joint electoral districting authority.
   2. Each region's electoral districting authority shall divide the region (or regions, if a joint authority) into electoral districts during October of odd-numbered years, based on the population distribution which existed on September 30 of that year.
5. Electoral districts within a region shall be determined according to the following procedure:
   1. Start with the boundary outline of the region.
   2. Let N = the number of required electoral districts.
   3. Let N=A+B where A and B are as nearly equal whole numbers as possible. For example:
      1. 6=3+3;
      2. but not 6=4+2; and
      3. 7=4+3;
      4. but not 7=5+2.
   4. Among all possible straight lines that split the region into two hemi-regions with population ratio A:B, choose the shortest line.
   5. If the population ratio doesn't split exactly into whole numbers, then round it as closely as possible.
   6. We now have two hemi-regions, each to contain a specified number (namely A and B) of electoral districts.
   7. Handle each of these hemi-regions recursively via the same splitting procedure.
6. Yes, this means that two different people voting at the same polling place will sometimes get different ballots.
   1. After all, the lines dividing up a city for city-council purposes are likely to be different from the lines dividing up a school district for board-of-trustees purposes -- the city and the school district may well have different boundaries, or different number of governing-board members, or both. And county-board-of-supervisors lines are going to be different from both city and school-district lines. And then there are lines for the state legislature, and the federal house of representatives, and a dozen other regions which are divided into electoral districts. Deal with it.
   2. And a very good way of dealing with it is to have the boundaries of polling-place precincts follow these overlapping sets of lines as much as possible. When that's not possible, though (or even when that's just not convenient), then be prepared to have several different ballot forms at the same polling place.
   3. In short, this particular Constitutional provision addresses only the size and shape of electoral districts. It doesn't address requirements for the size and shape of polling-place precincts. Let's address that in some other Constitutional provision.
   4. Come to think of it, this particular Constitutional provision doesn't even address whether there should be polling-place precincts at all. Maybe have:
      1. 100% mail voting, Oregon style?
      2. Internet voting as an optional alternative to either mail or in-person voting?
      3. Other?

      Let's address those concerns in some other Constitutional provision, too.

   5. But, as long as we're going to have the basic rule that "a person 'resides' where he receives mail" (see below), then there should be at least some provision allowing each voter to routinely receive the ballot at his "residence" address, and to vote by mail (with some suitable postmark provision).

7. A person "resides" where he receives mail:
   1. The receipt must be personal and physical.
      1. Mail forwarding services don't count, nor does an address count if it's "in care of" someone else.
      2. A Postal Service mail box (subject to availability) is OK; as is a private mail receiving service that chooses to do business with that person, and that does not engage in mail forwarding services for that customer without an automatic expiration in 12 months or less.
   2. A temporary change of mailing address (automatically expires in 12 months or less) submitted to the Postal Service doesn't count.
   3. A military person's residence:
      1. does not change with changes in his military address, and remains at the residence address where he last received mail as a civilian; but
      2. a military person who also acquires a civilian address "resides" at that civilian address if he meets the same conditions as a civilian does.
   4. A person who receives mail at multiple addresses:
      1. may designate which single address is his "residence" address; but
      2. for as long as he fails to make such a designation, the Postal Service may by rule determine which of such addresses is his "residence" address; and
      3. if the Postal Service considers a person to have multiple addresses -- none of which has yet been designated by the person as his "residence" address --, then it shall biennially (in January through March of odd-numbered years) mail a notice to that effect to each of his addresses, naming then, and requesting such a designation.
   5. The Postal Service shall determine the GPS coordinates of each person's "residence" address, and shall forward such coordinates to each electoral districting authority.
8. A person who has no mailing address (other than an "in care of" address, or a mail forwarding service) does not "reside" in any electoral district. This includes:
   1. homeless persons who can't get even some social services agency to provide a mail-box/caller-service;
   2. illegal aliens present in the Benevolent Dictatorship, and who so recognize the foolishness of bringing themselves to official attention; and
   3. other no-account persons of such ilk.
9. The Postal Service may enter into change-of-address mutual update agreements with other government agencies, for each person's addresses "residence" and otherwise. This includes, but is not limited to:
   1. vital statistics departments generating birth certificates (and death certificates!);
   2. public school districts, colleges, and universities enrolling students;
   3. motor-vehicle departments issuing driver's licenses (and ID cards);
   4. other licensing authorities, whether:
      1. occupational (lawyer, doctor, hair-dresser, topless dancer, etc.);
      2. recreational (hunting, fishing, library check-out, park/beach usage, etc.);
      3. marriage;
      4. weapon ownership/possession; or
      5. otherwise;
   5. conscription agencies accepting conscription registrations;
   6. voter registration authorities (in jurisdictions which require the registration of voters);
   7. jury commissioners (court clerks, bailiffs, etc.)
   8. revenue authorities processing tax returns;
   9. foreign affairs departments issuing passports or other international travel documents, and receiving notices of "I'll be resident abroad for more than one year, at the the following address";
   10. social service agencies -- civil and military -- administering public health, welfare, and pension programs; and
   11. all other governmental agencies doing business at least partially through the mail.
10. There is no penalty for failure to submit a change-of-address notice to the Postal Service, nor to any other government agency. However:
    1. Any government agency that participates in a change-of-address mutual update agreement may, by rule, declare the conditions under which first-class mail will be deemed to have been properly mailed:
       1. even if the mail is returned as "Moved -- No Forwarding Address"; but
       2. such rule must provide that if mail to any person is returned for any reason within fifteen business days (days other than Saturday, Sunday, or a legal holiday at the place of original mailing), then:
          1. it must first be re-mailed, first class, to the person's most recent "residence" address, according to Postal Service records;
          2. the dates of the original mailing, the return, and the re-mailing must be noted on the agency's records; and
          3. all deadlines must be extended by the number of business days elapsed between the dates of the original mailing and of the re-mailing.
    2. No government agency that does not participate in a change-of-address mutual update agreement may deem mail to have been properly mailed if it is returned for any reason.
11. On receiving a change-of-address notice, the Postal Service shall send a confirmation thereof to the old address, unless the mover has submitted the change-of-address notice:
    1. in person;
    2. with a government-issued photo ID;
    3. at the postal facility serving the old address; and
    4. with a written request that the confirmation not be sent.

12. Every 10 years, beginning on January 1, 2010, the Congress shall conduct an audit (which it may denominate as a "census", "enumeration", or otherwise) of residence registrations as of September 30 of the previous year..

13. No statistical processing shall ever be used in the audit. Instead:

    1. adjustments made at an audit shall be made only on the basis of an actual head count, without sampling, imputation, or anything else;

    2. adjustments made between audits shall be made only by multiplying the registered population of an electoral district by the audited-to-registered ratio of the last decennial audit; and

    3. when the boundaries of an electoral district change, the audited-to-registered ratio of the last decennial audit shall continue, with respect to the changed area, until the next decennial audit.