Legal Definitions - packing

Packing is a specific technique used in gerrymandering, which is the practice of drawing electoral district boundaries to give one political party or group an unfair advantage over another. When "packing" occurs, the dominant political party or racial group intentionally concentrates voters from a minority political party or racial group into a small number of electoral districts. The goal is to ensure that the minority group wins those few districts by a very large margin, but by doing so, their voting power is significantly diluted in all other districts, allowing the dominant group to win a greater number of overall seats.

• Example 1 (Political Party): Imagine a state where the ruling political party (Party A) is responsible for redrawing congressional district maps. There is a strong opposition party (Party B) with substantial support across the state. To minimize Party B's overall representation in Congress, Party A intentionally draws district lines to consolidate most of Party B's voters into just three out of ten districts. Party B wins these three districts with overwhelming majorities (e.g., 85% of the vote). However, because so many of their voters are "packed" into these few districts, Party B's influence is significantly weakened in the remaining seven districts, which Party A then wins comfortably, even if the statewide vote is relatively close.

  Explanation: This illustrates packing because Party A concentrated Party B's voters into a small number of districts, allowing Party B to win those districts by huge margins, but at the cost of having almost no chance to win the majority of other districts.

• Example 2 (Racial/Ethnic Group): Consider a large county that is undergoing redistricting for its county commission. A significant ethnic minority group resides in the county, but their population is somewhat dispersed. The dominant political faction, seeking to limit this group's representation on the commission, redraws the district maps. They create one or two districts where this ethnic minority group forms an overwhelming majority, ensuring they will elect their preferred candidate in those specific districts. However, by doing so, the remaining districts have very few voters from this ethnic minority group, making it nearly impossible for them to influence elections or elect candidates in those other, more numerous districts.

  Explanation: Here, the dominant faction uses packing to concentrate the ethnic minority's voting power into a few districts, thereby minimizing their potential to elect representatives across a broader range of districts and reducing their overall political influence.

• Example 3 (Urban vs. Rural Voters): In a state with a growing urban population that tends to vote differently from the more rural areas, the rural-dominated state legislature controls the redistricting process. To maintain their political power, the legislature might "pack" the urban voters into a few highly concentrated districts. These districts become overwhelmingly urban and reliably elect candidates preferred by urban residents. However, this strategy leaves the vast majority of other districts with a diluted urban vote, making it easier for candidates preferred by rural voters to win more seats statewide, even if the total urban population is substantial.

  Explanation: This demonstrates packing by consolidating urban voters into a small number of districts, thereby reducing their electoral impact in the larger number of remaining districts, which then become easier for rural-preferred candidates to win.