KnowraGerrymanderingGerrymanderingDrawing electoral district boundaries to give one party or group an advantage in converting votes into seats.BriefConnectPacking and cracking: The two core gerrymandering moves: concentrating opponents into few districts, or splitting them across many. Named techniques that describe how any gerrymandered map actually works.Elbridge Gerry: Massachusetts governor and later US Vice President whose approved 1812 district map named the practice. His name fused with 'salamander' to coin the word gerrymander.Rucho v. Common Cause: A 2019 US Supreme Court ruling that partisan gerrymandering claims present nonjusticiable political questions. The decision that removed federal courts from policing partisan maps.Safe seats: Districts so lopsided that the general election outcome is effectively predetermined. The direct electoral product of successful gerrymanders.Plurality voting system: An electoral rule awarding each district to the candidate with the most votes, however short of a majority. District-based plurality elections are what make boundary drawing so consequential.Efficiency gap: A metric measuring wasted votes for each party to quantify partisan fairness of a district plan. The most cited mathematical test for detecting gerrymandering in a map.Boston Gazette cartoon of 1812: The 1812 political cartoon depicting Gerry's district as a monster, popularizing the new word. The drawing that fixed the practice in public imagination within weeks.North Carolina's 2016 congressional map: A district plan struck down by federal courts for packing and cracking Black voters with surgical precision. The canonical modern map exposed in litigation and expert testimony.Primary challenges and polarization: In safe districts, competition shifts to primaries, rewarding candidates who appeal to base voters. A proposed mechanism linking map manipulation to legislative polarization.Proportional representation: Electoral systems allocating seats to parties in proportion to their overall vote shares. Where seats are proportional, district boundaries stop being a lever for advantage.Show all 24Linked from 17 pagesConstituencyBroader topic: Manipulated boundaries can shape which voters form a constituency and how effectively they are represented.Political representationRelated: District design can distort which communities receive effective electoral representation.Political equalityCompared with: Manipulated districts can weaken the equal influence that equal voting rights are meant to secure.RedistrictingBroader topic: It is the most contested consequence of strategic redistricting.United States House of RepresentativesRelated: District maps can shape which candidates win House seats and how competitive elections are.Electoral fraudCompared with: It manipulates electoral competition through district design, not necessarily illegal voting or counting.Representative democracyRelated: District design can distort how votes translate into representatives and legislative power.Electoral systemRelated: District rules can be exploited through strategic boundary drawing.Show all 17