This commentary is by Jim Christiansen of Richmond, a former Huntington Selectboard member and a current stay at-home father.
Last week, a Vermont House legislative committee adopted a plan to move forward with redistricting. At the time of this writing, this House committee has rejected the tripartisian reapportionment board’s call for legislative equality and is preparing to proceed with the mixed multimember district map that was produced as a minority report from the reapportionment board.
In short, the Vermont House wants to continue Vermont’s systematically unequal representation scheme for another 10 years.
So what’s the problem with mixed multimember and single-member districts? In a word, inequality. The current mix (and any future mix) of multimember and single-member districts results in unequal representation, directly granting some Vermonters greater access to their government through elected representation based solely on their address.
Some legislators may try to distract from the issue of equality by claiming history or traditional norms support the current system.
But make no mistake, this is 2022 and this is about equality. I reject the argument that historical discrimination or fear of splitting an existing district overrides equality of representation for all Vermonters. By law, House and Senate districts represent a specific number of people within an accepted deviation — not towns, counties or school districts.
Vermonters casting more votes and having the ear of more elected representation than their neighbor based solely on their address is simply wrong.
Perhaps the greatest impact from the inequality of mixed multimember and single-member districts is legislative committee representation, where all legislation is “made” and voted to the floor. Unequal districts directly result in some Vermonters being granted access to a greater number of committees and committee votes than their neighbor based on their address. Again, this is simply wrong.
I also find it astounding that, while our federal representation is currently fighting for equal access to government through federal voting reform, our Vermont Legislature is scheming to enshrine an inequitable system of representation on the Vermont populace for another 10 years.
So, what can you do? Call or email your House or Senate representative and ask them two questions point-blank.
- “Do you support equality of representation for all Vermonters?”
- “Will you fight for and vote for representational equality for all Vermonters?”
If they are unwilling or fail to respond in a timely matter, ask them publicly on Front Porch Forum.
Vermonters can’t afford to be silent on representational equality any longer.
