Ending Gerrymandering in California

Gov. Schwarzenegger is pushing his latest statewide initiative, and the centerpiece of that plan is the elimination of gerrymandering, the process which has basically guarateed each party the same number of seats in the State House through the end of the decade. In the 2004 elections, not a single one of the 173 seats up for election changed hands. Even the open seats remained in imcumbent parties.

"What kind of democracy is that?" Mr. Schwarzenegger asked in his State of the State address. He noted that the current system allows special interests to dominate low-turnout party primaries, which thus favor rigidly ideological candidates in both parties. He vowed to repair this "rigged" system even though many incumbents in his own party don't want to put their own seats at risk.

John Fund has the details here in the Wall Street Journal.