The Commissioners’ Power Grab
Aberdeen’s local officials accused of illegal gerrymandering to manipulate the upcoming election.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The county commissioners have created considerable comment by their recent action in re-districting the county and much speculation has been afloat as to the inwardness of this move. On the face of it, the action of the commissioners is illegal; and it would be possible for the present commissioners to hold over, no matter whom the people might think they were electing this November. The law clearly shows that the commissioners have no power to make any such division of the county at this time. It is evident that the commissioners had no power to take such action, nor will it be claimed by anyone that the so-called redistribution arranges the districts to embrace, as near as may be possible, one-third of the population of the county, when it is known that the present census shows existing inequality.
“This seems very plainly to be the little game the commissioners are playing; but the people can be counted upon to block it.”
Local debates over redistricting and the manipulation of voting blocks are perennial challenges in Washington civic life. Even in 1892, citizens were wrestling with the tension between administrative control and the democratic imperative to keep electoral boundaries fair and representative.
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