Taking a look at the Illinois Voting Rights Act of 2011

 

Gov. Pat Quinn signed the Illinois Voting Rights Act of 2011 into law on March 7, in advance of Illinois’ redistricting of House and Senate districts.

The bill is aimed at ensuring that minority communities don’t have their electoral power watered down during the map-drawing process, which happens after every census to reflect changes in population and demographics.

The law mandates that legislative districts must be drawn to "create crossover districts, coalition districts, or influence districts" that work to the benefit of racial and language minorities.

Here are more specific definitions of the districts named above:

Crossover district: Where a racial or language minority "constitutes less than a majority of the voting-age population but where this minority, at least potentially, is large enough to elect the candidate of its choice with help from voters who are members of the majority and who cross over to support the minority's preferred candidate."

Coalition district: Where "more than one group of racial minorities or language minorities may form a coalition to elect the candidate of the coalition's choice."

Influence district: Where "a racial minority or language minority can influence the outcome of an election even if its preferred candidate cannot be elected."

On one hand, you might say, why keep people apart, why not forge solidarity and unite their voices? On the ideological level, that’s absolutely valid. However, in a practical sense, such an approach doesn’t address the reality that groups do have separate interests, needs and political aims. This bill tries to help ensure that groups won’t have their voices drowned out due to district dynamics.

For example, in the redistricting following the 2000 census, Chinatown was sliced into four state representative districts. Asian leaders had advocated for some Asian communities to be put in the same district, especially since Chinatown’s population had increased by 60 percent in the decade before. This was to concentrate and bolster the political voice of a constituency which shares common needs and values. This bill helps minorities and immigrant communities be heard in Springfield.

One downside pointed out by critics contends that four public hearings aren’t enough to inform the state, and that the new law doesn’t explicitly call for officials to share maps of the districts before they are decided.

But just because the law establishes minimums, that doesn’t mean it can’t exceed expectations and go the extra mile; Gov. Quinn and legislators should go through this process with the utmost level of transparency, and collaboration with every Illinois community. Maps should be explained, critiqued, and reflective of what citizens want, not of what the politicians who profit from their votes want. It could muck the process up, but at the benefit of ensuring that there are no behind the scenes political games going on.