“It is the most insidious, invasive part of the political process.” “Voters are being manipulated.” “The system is rigged against them.”
These are just a few ways former Republican and Democratic Virginia legislators described our biggest political problem. PBS affiliate WCVE and OneVirginia2021 have teamed up to produce a documentary showing Virginia citizens how politicians pick their own voters.
GerryRIGGED: Turning Democracy On Its Head is a fifty-five minute long film featuring: Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, former Senator George Allen, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, Ohio Governor John Kasich, Governor Terry McAuliffe, and many more.
GerryRIGGED explains how gerrymandering, the manipulation of voting boundaries for political gain, is the culprit to why voters often have no choices and, worse, why so many Americans are frustrated and distraught with the political system.
Airings:
Oct. 18 – WBRA Roanoke
Oct. 23 – WHRO Norfolk
Oct. 24 – WHUT Washington D.C.
Oct. 24 – WHTJ Charlottesville
Oct. 24 – WCVE Richmond
Oct. 27 – WCVW Richmond
Oct. 27 – WVPT Harrisonburg
Oct. 30 – WHUT Washington D.C.
Showings:
Oct. 25 – Fredericksburg
Oct. 26 – Fredericksburg
Nov. 1 – Williamsburg
Nov. 1 – Manassas
Nov. 2 – Newport News
Nov. 2 – Lynchburg
Nov. 3 – Martinsville
Nov. 6 – Richmond
PBS’ Community Idea Stations and the redistricting reform coalition, OneVirginia2021, produced the documentary. Bill Oglesby, a veteran newsman and television producer, directed the project.
“Gerrymandering is the enemy of representative government. It manipulates the system to take choice away from voters,” Oglesby said. “We hope our documentary will help voters understand that this isn’t the way it has to be. Voters have a right to choose their representatives, not the other way around.
In 2015 General Assembly elections all incumbents who ran to hold their seats were reelected; of the few challengers, not a single one was elected.
Brian Cannon, Executive Director of OneVirginia2021, said this fall of the 435 House of Representative races, the Cook Political Report says only 35 are considered competitive. “That means the quagmire that our Congress has demonstrated for the last six years is unlikely to change,” Cannon said.
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Chris Graham
