Proposed bill would require independent commissions to redraw congressional districts

Steve Cohen, Democrat from Tennessee, and six of his House Democrat colleagues proposed a bill that would prevent state-level politicians from redrawing congressional districts. Instead, they would have to be redrawn after each nationwide Census by an independent commission.

Based off the California Bill Prop 11, which was passed in 2008 and was successfully put into action in 2012, H.R. 278 would have the task of redistricting given to an independent commission. This new federal bill would be a large step in battling gerrymandering on a large scale. After the Republicans won the House of Representatives while losing the popular vote by 1.1 million votes something clearly needs to be fixed so elections are fair again.

"It's time to take politics out of the redistricting process," Cohen said.

H.R. 278 would be approved or rejected after they were drawn up, but only the independent commission could amend the districts. More information can be found on The Hill.