Editor,

In a democracy, a key component is that as citizens and voters we are operating on a level playing field. When we exercise our right to vote, it should matter. When there is a system in which some voters have significantly more impact than others, we have a serious problem. In Pennsylvania today, we are experiencing such a problem because of heavily gerrymandered congressional and legislative districts.

An analysis of the most recent congressional vote throughout the state indicates that while the total popular vote was essentially an even split between Republican and Democratic candidates for Congress, Republicans won 13 of the 18 available seats (three seats were uncontested). Simply put, because of gerrymandering, there is often no realistic chance to change a seat's affiliation.

Take the 11th Congressional District. A glance at the district map reveals a district stretching from places like Tunkhannock in Wyoming to Shippensburg in Cumberland County. If you were to drive the most direct route, it would take about three hours to drive. Why such an enormous geographic area? Gerrymandering. It carves out a district that weighs heavily to the Republican candidate, making the seat noncompetitive.

Why is this important and undemocratic? Because if the seat is "safe" for one party, the elected representative has little incentive to be open and flexible. From a voter's standpoint, a fairly drawn district offers the potential of competitive races in which there are real choices and an incentive for candidates to listen and develop policy that truly represents the will of the population as a whole.

The 11th District also offers a glimpse into another area of concern with this practice. Because the district is not "compact," there is often little common interest among the constituents of the district. This also creates a situation where the single greatest population center of the district, Hazleton, holds little actual clout. Even if the Luzerne County section of the district were to vote by a large margin for a Democratic candidate, the Republican candidate is very likely to prevail given the overwhelming number of Republicans in the remaining parts of the district.

Hence, there's irony that Congressman Lou Barletta has the least incentive to respond to the issues impacting his own hometown of Hazleton, which has by far the largest Hispanic population in his district and Abington the highest in the state.

This is what gerrymandering does. Eliminating gerrymandering is not a partisan issue. The intent is simply to favor the voter, not political parties or those in power who decide who they want as their voters

For more information, go to FairDistrictsPA.com.

Diane Dakey, a volunteer from Fair Districts PA, will make a presentation open to the public on April 6 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Hazleton One Community Center auditorium. It is titled "Our Disappearing Democracy: The need to repair PA's Redistricting Process."

The road to meaningful change is through this type of activism. Making our democracy democratic is worth your time and support.

Bob Stevens,

Hazleton