Backs referendum for changing redistricting process

Many Georgians were disgusted by the naked partisanship that drove the state's redistricting process last year. Majority Democrats set aside the needs and desires of their constituents as they divided the state into an absurd patchwork of irregularly shaped voting districts that they believe will assure their party's dominance at the state and federal levels for the next decade.

This year, some small measure of sanity has returned to the gold dome as Rep. Bob Irvin, R-Atlanta, and Sen. Jack Hill, D-Reidsville, have introduced bills in the State House and Senate to set up an independent, non-partisan commission to draw up voting districts in the future.

The bill would require a change to our state constitution that would have to be approved in a future statewide referendum.

Make no mistake - this bill faces a steep uphill battle. The entrenched political establishment in Atlanta has no desire to relinquish its control over the reapportionment process.

It will take a groundswell of noisy popular support to prevent this bill from being quietly swept under the carpet. If we really care about what happened to our voting districts last year, we must let our legislators know that we demand the right to vote on redistricting reform.

Bill Ferguson, Centerville, Ga.