The problems with the state's unfair system of determining legislative districts received new attention last week when government watchdog groups released a report calling for an independent commission to decide district boundaries.

This report was not the first to call attention to this issue, but it did deliver a powerful statistic that demonstrates how badly the process works.

Over the past 24 years, the report said, just 34 incumbents have been defeated in the state Legislature.

Considering that there have been more than 2,500 legislative races, that figure is astounding - and troubling.

Of course there are plenty of reasons incumbents have dominated state Legislature races. They typically enjoy a huge fund-raising advantage, name recognition and the ability to bring state money back to their constituents.

But for legislators who happen to serve in the majority party of the state Assembly or Senate, re-districting gives them the biggest edge. Under the system now in place, majority parties determine the district lines, and they have often gone out of their way to keep certain seats under their control.

State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno has bristled at the idea of changing the system, basically saying that anyone who argues against it is simply a sore loser working for the minority party. His spokesman last week reiterated that the courts have upheld the current system as legal.

Being legal, though, is not the same as being fair.

“With this rigged system, lawmakers are choosing their voters rather than voters choosing their lawmakers,” said Rachel Leon of Common Cause, one of the groups that issued the recent report.

We couldn't agree more. This process needs to be fixed, and voters should demand to hear that from candidates running for office this fall.