Making Democracy Greater Again by Drawing the Lines
Young people can improve election mapping and turn the tide on low voter turnout
I have always, and will always, get tears in my eyes when I watch masterpieces like It’s a Wonderful Life and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. In my mind, no movies better embody the sense that individual people make a difference in the world, even when faced with a political or social system that all too often stacks the deck against them.
In these movies, we watch the earnest exhaustion and suffering on Jeff Smith’s face as he filibusters on the Senate floor. We experience the exhilaration as his Boys Nation followers do their best to bring Claude Rains’ corrupt regime to its knees. We see George Bailey’s friends and neighbors save him from his own despair, a good man the system — and Old Man Potter — seem bent on destroying.
It’s that spirit — one person standing up for what’s right, whose determination inspires those around him to rally to the cause — that, to me, exemplifies much of what’s right about this country, our heritage, our history, and our values.
And it’s that same spirit that makes me so passionate about Draw the Lines and all the possibilities it unleashes.
Draw the Lines PA is a nonpartisan resource for Pennsylvanians who want to end gerrymandering and help democracy work better. We tell their stories, help them connect, provide ways to engage. We offer every willing hand the digital tools needed to draw a valid election map. Why? To prove that our state’s people — whether 14, 44 or 84 — are ready, willing and able to take on this core work of democracy. To slay the gerrymander, we’re running mapping competitions with significant cash prizes through 2021.
A major goal of Draw the Lines is to put the free DistrictBuilder online mapping tool into the hands of as many students across Pennsylvania as possible. We’re pretty sure that students will find it far easier to draw a sound, constitutional election map than their parents and grandparents will.
After all, pointing, clicking, moving a mouse, creating something new and useful out of a sea of pixels — that’s what so many young Americans have been doing since since childhood.
And in that fact lies, we think, a powerful message for Pennsylvania’s young people.
It goes something like this: “Yes, it’s true. We, your parents and grandparents, have screwed up this democracy thing pretty badly for you. But here’s the good news: The computing skills that for you are like mother’s milk … well, they’re actually one of the keys to fixing the mess we’ve made of things in Harrisburg and Washington.”
We fervently believe that young people can do a better job of election mapping than self-interested politicians have been doing for decades. In doing so, they can demolish all the myths, alibis and excuses that those politicians have been tossing around to thwart redistricting reform.
Further, we believe that young people have an opportunity to turn the tide on low voter turnout. In recent elections, only 17 percent of registered voters went to the polls in the Philadelphia region.
To combat this, the Committee of Seventy is also excited to launch WeVote, an initiative to promote a culture of voting in businesses, organizations and communities in the region, and the WeVote App, a one-stop-shop where you can learn about the candidates, act on Election Day by voting or volunteering, and share events you plan to attend and materials you’ve read.
With that, I’ll leave you with this:
Democracy is not broken beyond repair. The fix can begin now and begin with you. You are the key to fixing the bug in the operating system of democracy.
We hope that message will be welcome, inspiring and powerful.
As these initiatives build momentum and spread across the Commonwealth, I am so looking forward to seeing citizens step forward — regular folks young and old — to remind us that they’re ready, willing and able to make democracy great again.
By David Thornburgh, President and CEO of the Committee of Seventy
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