Gerrymandering and The Dangers It Provides When It Comes to Voting and Presidential Elections

The practice of Gerrymandering has been around as long as the United States Constitution has. “Gerrymandering” comes from the name of former Massachusetts Governor Elbridge Gerry. His last name is the beginning part, of the term because in 1811 he signed a bill which gave an unfair representation and advantage to the Democratic Party over the Republicans. One of the districts looked like it was shaped like a salamander so that’s how they got the mander part. Also, the finishing touch was when Elkanah Tisdale cartoon appeared in the Boston Gazette; it graphically made the districts into an animal, which then finally gave birth to the term “The Gerry-mander”. Gerrymandering can simply be described as drawing the boundaries of electoral districts with the main objective of determining the outcome of elections. Congressional districts are gerrymandered usually in two ways. The first being by drawing districts in a way that packs voters of one kind into a single district, which basically helps stop them from influencing other districts. The second method, usually referred to as “cracking” is achieved by pretty much diluting all the same voters. You spread them out into as many districts as possible in order to stop them from gaining sufficient influence in any one district.

Historical Context of Gerrymandering

Gerrymandering has been used to both help allow and stop minority voters. “Several states implemented gerrymanders to create majority-minority districts, thereby empowering minority voting blocs in the electoral process”. There’s been congressional majorities in Georgia, Florida, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Texas gerrymander the competitiveness of their districts away, and states such as New Jersey, California, and New York redraw their districts in order to protect their necessary seats.

Political Perspectives on Gerrymandering

“President Ronald Reagan once called for “an end to the antidemocratic and un-American practice of gerrymandering congressional districts,” characterizing the issue as “a national scandal.” President Obama once said “politicians picking their voters, and not the other way around.” Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich had to say about the issue “I think it’s wrong,”and “I think it leads to bad government.”

Constitutional Concerns

Gerrymandering could potentially be seen as being in violation of the United States Constitution. It has already been recognized several times by state and federal courts, but not with the unanimity required to systematically outlaw the practice of gerrymandering. Gerrymandering has been viewed as being dangerous because it violates two basic tenets of electoral apportionment which are compactness and equality of size of constituencies. “A U.S. Supreme Court ruling of 1964 stated that districts should be drawn to reflect substantial equality of population.”

The Role of Majority Parties

However, the majority parties in certain state legislatures continue to set district boundaries along partisan lines without regard for local boundaries or even contiguity. Some people chose to defend gerrymandering because they see it as the only way of securing any representation for minority groups.

The Debate on Representation

Others argue that violating local boundaries in drawing districts is preferable to denying a politically cohesive group any voice in state government and harms the equality of citizens. While some claim that the practice helps America, in reality gerrymandering greatly affects society, and must become illegal to truly insure fair and honest representation.