The Political Art of Drawing Lines: Understanding Gerrymandering

In the United States, every ten years, following the census, a complex and often contentious process takes place: the redrawing of congressional and state legislative district boundaries. This is known as redistricting, and it’s meant to ensure that districts have roughly equal populations. However, this seemingly bureaucratic task has a more sinister side, a practice that has been a thorn in the side of American democracy since its early days: gerrymandering.

Gerrymandering is the political manipulation of electoral district boundaries to favor a specific political party, group, or incumbent. The result is often districts with convoluted, winding boundaries that seem to defy logic, giving a distinct advantage to the party in power. The term itself is a portmanteau born in 1812 from the name of Massachusetts Governor Elbridge Gerry and a salamander-like district he approved, which was lampooned in a political cartoon.

How It Works: The “Packing” and “Cracking” Strategies

Politicians and mapmakers use sophisticated data and mapping technology to surgically precise effect. The two primary methods of gerrymandering are “packing” and “cracking.”

  • Packing: This strategy involves concentrating a large number of voters from the opposing party into a small number of districts.9 The party that is packed will likely win those few districts by an overwhelming margin, but their voting strength is diluted in all the surrounding districts, which are then easily won by the gerrymandering party.
  • Cracking: In contrast, cracking involves splitting up a group of voters with similar interests—such as those from a particular political party or racial group—and spreading them across multiple districts. By making them a minority in each district, their collective voting power is reduced, making it nearly impossible for them to elect their preferred candidate in any of the districts.

The combination of these two techniques can create a system where one party can win a majority of seats even while receiving fewer overall votes statewide.

The Consequences of Gerrymandering

The effects of gerrymandering on elections and governance are profound and often detrimental to the democratic process.

  1. Reduced Voter Participation: When districts are non-competitive, voters may feel that their vote doesn’t matter, leading to lower voter turnout. This is especially true in districts that are heavily packed, where the outcome is all but guaranteed.
  2. Increased Partisanship and Polarization: Gerrymandered districts often create safe seats, where an incumbent faces little risk of losing.16 This reduces the incentive for politicians to compromise or work across the aisle, as their primary concern becomes appealing to their most extreme base in a primary election rather than the broader electorate in a general election.
  3. Lack of Accountability: When a representative is in a safe district, they are less accountable to the voters and more beholden to their party leadership or special interests. This can lead to a lack of responsiveness to constituents’ needs and a focus on toeing the party line.

Reform Efforts and the Path Forward

The battle against gerrymandering has been fought in courtrooms and state legislatures for decades. One of the most common reform proposals is the establishment of independent redistricting commissions. These commissions, often composed of non-partisan or bipartisan citizens, are tasked with drawing district maps based on criteria like compactness and respecting communities, rather than partisan advantage.

Another approach is to change the way elections are conducted. Some reformers advocate for multi-winner districts with proportional representation, which would make it harder for any single party to dominate and would better reflect the statewide vote share.

While the practice of gerrymandering has evolved with technology, so too have the tools to analyze and detect it. Statistical tests can identify when a district map is highly skewed.

 

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