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My name is Aurelio Victor Alvarez and I live at 204 Park Street, New Canaan, CT. I consider redistricting a very dangerous aspect of our democracy because it invites our congressmen to engage in unscrupulous behavior, and it makes it such that the important election in the district becomes the primary election because the general election is deemed a waste of time for the minority party.

We can’t allow any election to be a waste of time. The closer the outcome of a general election, the more awareness and interest in the election, the higher the voter turnout, the more the electorate delves into the real issues and makes an appropriate assessment of the two candidates rather than just voting the row. If the primary becomes the real election that decides the winner because they will not face real competition in the general election, the likelihood that the winner of the election is an ultra-radical is much greater. And a more radical legislator results in greater polarization and stalemate in the legislature, and this malaise results in a frustrated and angry electorate with little confidence in their government.

Gerrymandering often becomes a self-serving scheme to materially increase the probability that the incumbent will be re-elected and increase the probability that the dominant political party will maintain control of the legislature in future elections. Only a politician with a strong sense of integrity can withstand this very large temptation. The career politician is a politician whose main objective is to get re-elected. Their power grows the more time they spend in office. Campaign contributions become their main objective because money is a form of power, and many are amenable to gerrymandering because of the tremendous benefit they get if it is done in their favor and because it’s legal. This works to the detriment of the health, prosperity and well-being of the state. Alexander Hamilton wrote in Federalist Paper #59 “Some administrators prefer their own emolument and advancement to the public weal.” We must protect ourselves against this tendency.

I believe that a district should be drawn with one of two aims in mind: 1. Districts should be drawn as randomly as possible with no consideration of the benefits to either party; or 2. Districts should be drawn with a view to strike the best balance between Democrat and Republican so as to improve the likelihood that the general election is as close a race as possible. Gerrymandering must be treated as a form of corruption, and good redistricting must be employed to combat this form of corruption.

Thanks Lucy Dathan for making me aware of my ability to submit public testimony to these important deliberations.