The Use of Gerrymandering Tactics by The Republican Party

In the United States, political parties have had a past of trying to gain dominate power over the other party. For example, in 1812, the governor of Massachusetts coined the term gerrymandering. So, he used his power to manipulate district lines and maintain political power for Democratic-Republicans. Currently, partisan gerrymandering gives the Republican party advantage over the Democratic party by utilizing the redistricting process, manipulating representation of voters, and exploiting the concurring opinion of the Supreme Court.

By utilizing the redistricting process, Republicans have gerrymandering advantage in how electoral districts are mapped. Through having this power, Republicans are currently maximizing their favor in electoral elections from techniques like cracking and packing. Firstly, Republicans are currently the majority party in state legislature, so they have dominant influence in the redistricting electoral districts. By using this packing technique, Republicans can consolidate their enemies, notably Democrats, into concentrated districts. By sacrificing these concentrated districts, they surround them with more Republican majority districts. Cracking is similar to packing because it pulverizes opposing power, but it lays Democrats thin across districts so they cannot win as a majority within a district. Through methods of cracking and packing, Republicans can use gerrymandering influence within the redistricting process.

The Republican Party is using these tactics of gerrymandering and in result, voters are misrepresented. Gerrymandering manipulates the representation of minority, democratic, and the majority votes because Republicans map districts within their favor. Their votes and concerns are being drowned out by majority districts as a result. During the 1960s and 1970s, racial gerrymandering affected minorities within the Delta in Mississippi. Most of the black population of Mississippi lived along the Delta. They made up the majority of that congressional district because of gerrymandering packing. This was done to prevent black candidates from being elected and maintain only white congressman toward election. In 1965, the Voting Rights Act would help get the majority vote. However, to combat the black majority, state legislature spread the population amongst three districts. They used the gerrymandering cracking method to dilute their vote towards a black representative, until Mike Epsy took office in 1987. Democrats are Republicans greatest threat during the electoral process. Generally, the Democratic demographic compromises of African Americans, Puerto Ricans, Central Americans, Asians, Women, Jews, and lower income Americans. A good example of Democratic and overall voters having misrepresentation was the 2016 Presidential election. Hilary Clinton had 48 percent of the popular vote with 65,200,000 votes while Donald Trump won despite having 46 percent of the popular with 62,700,000 votes. Despite Hilary Clinton’s popular vote, Donald Trump won 304 electoral votes over Hilary’s 227 votes. Though most people voted for Hilary Clinton, congressional and state legislative districts voted for Donald Trump. Gerrymandering offers the misrepresentation of voters like minorities, opposing democrats, and majority votes, though all communities’ issues and concerns should be heard.

The Republican Party is currently exploiting the concurring opinion of the Supreme Court. Extreme gerrymandering is hard to definitively handle within the Supreme Court, so the majority of justices chose to not interfere. For example, in 2016, the Common Cause has challenged North Carolina’s and Wisconsin's congressional maps from gerrymandered restricting. Eventually in 2018, the case of Rucho v. Common Cause opened the concluding and conflicting question of when is gerrymandering going too far and how it should be evaluated and dealt. From the 5-4 majority opinion, Justices stated that they did not have the jurisdiction to change issues regarding partisan gerrymandering. Justices Roberts, Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, and Kavanaugh gave the majority opinion which opposed to not take action. Instead they say that the issue should be changed amongst the political parties. This conclusion offers no consequences or limitations onto partisan gerrymandering, so the Republican majority can continue their dominant influence. The power of gerrymandering can continue to use influence on redistricting of congressional and state legislative districts. People who oppose of political gerrymandering will most likely experience a long process to minimize or alter such influences. From the Supreme Court abstaining from intervention, gerrymandering is left to its devices within the dominant political party, the Republic Party.

Currently, gerrymandering gives the Republican Party advantage over the Democratic party by utilizing mapping of congressional districts, manipulating representation of voters, and exploiting the concurring opinion of the Supreme Court. As the majority of Congress and state legislature, Republicans can redraw congressional and state legislative districts closer to their favor. They use packing and stacking to maximize their victories in elections. Gerrymandering opens the door to unequal representation of voters, as of now, minorities, Democrats, and majority votes of citizens are threatened by the majority of Republican influence on Congress. Also, gerrymandering is utilizing the outcome of Supreme Court cases abstaining from action against gerrymandering. As of now, the majority of justices feels that the issue is not up to their decision and could not impose a standard on gerrymandering. Gerrymandering has been utilized both parties throughout the history of the United States, as we learned through Elbridge Gerry’s coining of the term in 1812. Though the issues of gerrymandering are not successfully pursued currently, this does not mean that we can make changes in the future. Even though many issues are not corrected timely within government, there will most likely be a slow and gradual change to impose limitations upon gerrymandering.