Opinion: Put democracy before politics

Getting out to vote is important — it is a primary driver for change in our society. 

That said, the way we vote was designed more than 200 years ago by men with limited polling resources.

It's 2016, and we can do better.

While there are many ways to improve voting, one institution stands out as particularly unfair, and it has become a main talking point for those consciously not voting.

Gerrymandering cheapens the vote of the American people by allowing partisan committees to give a superimposed edge to their party. This is wrong no matter which side does it.

We do not need to rehash the issues with gerrymandering. By this point it seems most people and most court systems (looking at you, current N.C. districts) agree that ridiculously drawn districts are wrong.

The question now is: Where can we improve?

Unlike an earlier version of the United States republic, today we do not need to rely on humans with pens dividing up the state. And we certainly don't need to rely on politics anymore. 

Computer programmers can and have created new voting districts based off criteria ranging from pure population numbers, party identification, income or racial identification.

Clearly, given the resources available on computers and through census data, the current system can and should be improved upon in order to create a better voting environment for the populace.

While this change will not magically improve voter turnout, it will make the election process and representation in Congress more reflective of the demographic makeup in the United States.

This change does not give an edge to any political party — it does the exact opposite. Sure, in this state Republicans may lose a few districts when the lines are redrawn, but that is no excuse.

The ideals of American democratic predate either political party and are objectively more important. The only way we can create a society better governed than our current one is to constantly think about ways to improve democracy.