Volume 20
Issue
2
Date
2022

How Independent is Too Independent?: Redistricting Commissions and the Growth of the Unaccountable Administrative State

by Jason Torchinsky and Dennis W. Polio

Redistricting commissions are quickly proliferating across the country. These commissions are intended to alleviate concerns about how redistricting is conducted in an era of powerful computing technology, widely available data, and advanced mapping software. However, as with all things connected to public administration, the “devil is in the details.” The proliferation of redistricting commissions raises numerous questions: Are these commissions accountable institutions that increase public trust in the redistricting process? Or are they simply another symptom of an ever- expanding administrative state that removes key decision-making from public officials accountable to voters? Will responsive public officials make redistricting decisions? Or will such determinations fall to bureaucrats or politically connected consultants who are completely insulated from the public will? With the stakes of redistricting so high, and when entrusting that process to an unelected commission, it is essential that redistricting commissions are accountable to the public for their decisions.

This Article summarizes the varieties of state redistricting commissions and provides a lens through which to evaluate their accountability to the public. Ultimately, this article concludes that, if redistricting commissions continue to proliferate, states must carefully study how to properly structure them to maximize accountability.

 

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