Definition: to manipulate the boundaries of (an electoral constituency) so as to favor one party or class.
“a total freedom to gerrymander the results they want”
First comes the creation of the electoral districts. These are created to reflect an even distribution of population within each district and compliance with the Voting Rights Act to ensure there is no diluting the voting power of minority groups. All parts of a district must be connected, avoiding splitting counties, cities and towns.
Next is redistricting, happening every ten years following the U.S. Census to account for population changes and ensure each district has roughly the same number of people. Additionally, it may be triggered by court orders or by state laws permitting mid-decade redistricting.
Quoting attorney Marc Elias, “When done fairly, the process of redistricting creates congressional districts that reflect the population and values of a community. When voters go to the polls on the first Tuesday in November, they are electing someone who represents the interests of the district.”
In most states the state legislature is responsible for this. Some states use independent commissions or the courts to create maps if the legislature fails to agree on a plan. It is also a politically charged process where boundaries can be manipulated for partisan advantage.
And that brings us to gerrymandering. Yes, both parties have been guilty of this, but in the last couple of decades Republican legislatures have elevated this to a high art form in order to assure that their party will win. Take note of the President’s recent demand of Texas politicians to create five more seats for Congress. This should alarm and worry us all. Districts are created for the people to elect the politicians THEY want, not for politicians to choose their voters. Again to quote Marc Elias: “…under Texas’ proposed map, five seats currently held by Democrats are targeted to be redrawn to favor Republicans — the voters be damned. The map is so crazy that the parking lot of the state’s capitol building would literally be split into two different districts.“
There is even a font about gerrymandering: Ugly Gerry. The characters consist of shapes of United States congressional districts, its intention being to protest gerrymandering. (Wikipedia).
EVERY American citizen deserves the right to vote – no one should be trying to manipulate to win districts for an unfair advantage or suppressing votes. Convince the public to vote for your values, don’t gerrymander to force it to go your way.
Diane Colcord