To the Editor:

The current Macon County Board has proposed redistricting the county. While it has been put on hold for the moment, it addresses the problem of redistricting as a whole and how little control voters have over this issue.

The last time Macon County was redistricted was decades ago, when the current map was drawn and put into play. That map has three districts, District 1 and 2 being of relatively equal size based on population and each having one commissioner. District 3 contains the greatest number of people, representing the Franklin area, and has three commissioners. Voting is at-large, meaning everyone in Macon County votes for all five commissioners. While popular at the time, over the last fifty years, at-large voting has become less popular, and pure voting has become the preference.

Pure voting means each voter gets one vote for their candidate of choice. In our case that would mean splitting the county into five equal districts, with each district electing one commissioner. Someone running in District 1 would campaign and solicit votes from District 1 residents. As it is now, a candidate for commissioner in District 1 garners votes from residents throughout the county, potentially overriding the popular vote in the district they are running to represent. At-large voting has been used to override the Black vote throughout the south, but it is also used to override the liberal vote in a mostly conservative state. As our president said, by redistricting this year Republicans could remain in power for a hundred years. In recent decisions, the Supreme Court has allowed gerrymandering for the purpose of politics; however, they have not spoken on the fairness of at-large voting to manipulate the political vote.

The proposal before the commission suggests keeping at-large voting for the county elections, which would eliminate the proposal put forth by a Highlands Board member for a five district, pure voting option. My thoughts are, if you want to improve a decades old system, why choose an at-large voting option before looking at the various other proposals offered to the planning commission? Why not choose to put it in a referendum for public vote? To me, at-large voting means everyone in Macon County votes for my representative even if they have no idea of the issues facing my district. It would be like the whole country electing the governors for all 50 states, or the whole state voting on all the representatives in the state. How educated could those voters be about the issues facing the people of Western North Carolina?

If you have read this far, I am asking you to attend the next county commission meeting on Sept. 9 in Franklin and to sign up to speak on the redistricting plan. If we want to vote on this issue, we must speak out. The only way to change things is to attend meetings, write letters and raise a ruckus, excuse me, speak out. And by all means vote this November because our other chance to change the direction of the county board is to elect new members to it.

Margaret Pickett
Highlands