Gerrymandering a factor in South Dakota Democrats' woes

[TexasTowelie]

South Dakota's election map is stacked against Democrats more than any other state in the nation, according to an Associated Press analysis.

Nearly 2 in 5 votes cast in 2016 state House races went to Democratic candidates, but the party captured only 14 percent of seats in the chamber.

That's the widest "efficiency gap" among any state, according to the analysis, which used the same mathematical formula cited last fall by a federal appeals court that struck down Wisconsin’s state Assembly districts as intentional partisan gerrymandering.

The analysis supports some Democrats' claims that the state's dominant party has used its power to marginalize the minority party. Meanwhile, the chair of the South Dakota Republican Party dismissed the numbers as "fantasy."

Read more: http://www.argusleader.com/story/news/politics/2017/06/28/ap-analysis-gerrymandering-factor-south-dakota-democrats-woes/428131001/

[shenmue]

1. ...

[prairierose]

2. We have seen this state go from a state....

that was pretty evenly divided to one party rule for many years now. When I tell my students that we used to have a dem party in this state; they don't believe me. OTOH, when the DNC abandoned state parties in the 90's, that didn't help.

I know people who lost their legislative seat to gerrymandering. It is not fantasy.

[customerserviceguy]

3. Except for a couple of elongated districts in the center

Namely, #'s 27 and maybe 21, and possibly #35 in the Rapid City area, it doesn't look as gerrymandered as some I've seen. My guess is that most of the boundaries of the districts are in very lightly populated areas.

[Gothmog]

4. The GOP is the party of voter suppression and relies on voter suppression to win races