Chronicle Editorial

By: 
Chronicle Staff

SCOTUS gets it right with recent decision
 
    It was a narrow 5-4 vote, but a recent ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court promises to uphold justice and fairness for millions of Americans well into the future.
    No, not that ruling.
    The Supreme Court last week upheld an Arizona law that requires congressional districts to be redrawn by an independent commission. The law was intended to restrict partisan influence when districts get reconfigured every 10 years, a task typically completed by partisan state legislatures. The Supreme Court’s 5-4 vote ensures competitive elections by vindicating independent redistricting commissions in Arizona and 12 other states.
    That baker’s dozen includes Iowa, which has utilized a nonpartisan advisory commission called the Legislative Services Agency (LSA) for many years. The LSA provides the Iowa Legislature with a draft redistricting plan in an attempt to ensure credibility and nonpartisan fairness. Once the LSA signs off on a draft and returns it to the Legislature, lawmakers can reject the proposal and ask for a new one. If push comes to shove and third draft is necessary, the Legislature can amend it before voting on it. The system isn’t perfect, but it’s much better than the alternative – gerrymandering.
    We all learned this goofy word during our junior high civics class. Partisan legislatures – be them Republican or Democrat – use their powers to draw unfair districts in attempt to tip the odds in their favor. This is most commonly separated into two categories called “packing” and “cracking.” The former occurs when redistricting packs voters of one party into a single district or a limited number of districts, while the other occurs when redistricting spreads voters of one party among many districts to limit their influence during elections. Both are used to gain an unfair advantage and limit voter participation.
    Neither of those things is good for democracy, and the Supreme Court acknowledged that by upholding the Arizona law. Gerrymandering suppresses minority groups and takes power away from the people. We should be proud Iowa realized this and implemented a system that upholds the integrity of elections. States without these independent laws are leaving the door open for backhanded discrimination and political gamesmanship.
    If the Supreme Court’s ruling went in the opposite direction, it would have spelled trouble for Arizona and the 12 other states with independent redistricting commissions. The 37 states without these laws would be wise to implement some rule that establishes nonpartisan safeguards. It’s ludicrous that lawmakers are allowed roadmap victories for their own party by redistricting every 10 years, and it’s a practice that should be shelved once and for all.
 
Pulling up on Pluto
 
    By this time next week, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft will have flown by Pluto and captured clear images of the elusive dwarf planet for the first time in history. While naysayers will scoff at the significance of this mission, it’s certainly a huge milestone for America’s space program and mankind’s undying quest to explore beyond our own planet.
    The raw statistics behind the New Horizons mission are astounding. It’s the fastest spacecraft NASA has ever built, travels at 30,000 mph and still took nine years to reach Pluto. It’s so far away that it takes 4.5 hours to transmit a message from Earth and the same amount of time to send one back. It’s really far away, and there’s no denying that.
    Pluto isn’t a planet anymore – scientists demoted it to dwarf planet status in 2006 following extensive debate. Nevertheless, that doesn’t subtract from the significance of this mission. It’s truly a testament for scientific ingenuity and humanity’s pioneering spirit. This spacecraft traversed around 3 billion miles to get to Pluto, and it will no doubt be an incredible moment when we get the first images back.
    Some folks will say this mission was a waste of money, time and valuable resources. However, it represents an incredible feat of determination and knowledge. America is visiting Pluto, and that’s almost as unimaginable as the effort it took to get there.

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