If you think the politicians in Sacramento aren't accountable to voters, you can do something about it on Tuesday by voting "yes" on Proposition 11. This measure will make your votes count in future legislative elections by taking the power to draw district lines from lawmakers and giving it to an independent commission.
The politicians now draw legislative districts that guarantee their re-election. It's a conflict of interest that cheats our representative government, and allows party insiders -- and the special interests who fund them -- to disregard the will of the people.
The best line we've heard about the current system is this: Instead of the voters picking the politicians, the politicians pick the voters.
The independent commission proposed by Proposition 11 would do away with gerrymandering and be required to determine legislative districts that are as compact as possible and follow "communities of interest." What we get now are districts that zigzag through cities and counties to keep politicians in office.
If you want to change Sacramento politics -- a system that has brought legislative gridlock, late budgets and partisan bickering -- then vote "yes" on Proposition 11. State government needs many reforms, but none of them will mean anything if we don't have legislative elections that are fair.
Right now the politicians don't have to deal with the state's biggest problems because they are guaranteed re-election. They thumb their noses at voters, even while feigning concern for problems that Californians face.
Even when lawmakers leave office because of term limits, their seats are inherited by the party that has always held them. That means that Democrats and Republicans determine who the legislators will be and the voters just make those choices official at election time.
Opponents of Proposition 11 -- mostly the entrenched politicians and public employee unions -- are using misleading ads to defeat the measure. They understand that redistricting reform will change their cozy little world. Don't fall for their deceptive tactics.
Of all the measures on Tuesday's ballot, Proposition 11 will have the biggest impact on state government. Vote "yes" for a better Legislature.
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