Legal Definitions - gerrymandering

Gerrymandering is the practice of manipulating the boundaries of electoral districts or other jurisdictional areas to create an unfair political advantage for one party, group, or demographic over another.

This manipulation often results in oddly shaped districts designed to either concentrate the voting power of a particular group into a few districts (known as "packing") or spread their voting power thinly across many districts (known as "cracking"), thereby influencing election outcomes and securing more favorable representation for the manipulating party or group.

• Example 1: Political Party Advantage (Packing)

  Imagine a state where the dominant political party, Party A, controls the legislature. During the redistricting process, they redraw the congressional map. In a large urban area, there's a significant concentration of voters who strongly support Party B. Instead of creating several competitive districts, Party A draws one very large, irregularly shaped district that encompasses almost all of Party B's strongholds. This "packs" a huge number of Party B voters into a single district, ensuring Party B wins that one district by an overwhelming margin. However, by doing so, the surrounding districts are left with a much smaller proportion of Party B voters, making them significantly easier for Party A candidates to win. This strategy allows Party A to secure more overall seats in Congress, even if the statewide popular vote is relatively close.

  This illustrates gerrymandering because the district boundaries were intentionally manipulated (by packing Party B voters into one district) to give Party A an unfair advantage, leading to more legislative seats than their overall popular vote might otherwise suggest.

• Example 2: Political Party Advantage (Cracking)

  Consider a different scenario where a minority political party, Party X, has a substantial but geographically dispersed voter base across a state. The majority party, Party Y, redraws the state legislative districts. Instead of allowing Party X to form a majority in a few districts, Party Y "cracks" Party X's voter base by splitting their communities across multiple districts. For instance, a town that consistently votes for Party X might be divided into three different legislative districts, with each segment then combined with areas that predominantly vote for Party Y. This dilutes Party X's voting strength in every district, making it extremely difficult for them to win any seats, even though their total number of voters might be significant statewide.

  This is gerrymandering because the district lines were drawn to intentionally dilute the voting power of Party X by spreading their supporters thinly across multiple districts, thereby giving Party Y an unfair electoral advantage.

• Example 3: Jurisdictional Advantage (School Districts)

  A city council is tasked with redrawing school attendance zones for its public elementary schools. A powerful group of residents from a newly developed, affluent neighborhood wants to ensure their children are zoned for a specific, highly-rated public school known for its excellent resources and academic performance, while avoiding another school in a less affluent part of town. The council, influenced by these residents, approves a convoluted school district boundary that snakes around the wealthy neighborhood, ensuring all its residents are assigned to the desirable school. Meanwhile, children from a nearby, less affluent community are assigned to the less desirable school, even if the highly-rated school is geographically closer to some of their homes.

  This demonstrates gerrymandering in a non-electoral context. The school district boundaries were manipulated not for political party advantage, but to give a specific socio-economic group (the residents of the affluent neighborhood) an unfair advantage in access to a preferred public service, at the expense of another group.