Fair or Foul? Good and Bad Examples of Gerrymandering

Few topics in American politics are more confusing or more controversial than gerrymandering. For many skeptical voters, the practice of manipulating the boundary lines for congressional districts seems inherently shady. But are there ever circumstances where gerrymandering is a good thing?

Gerrymandering 101

Gerrymandering is a concept that most of us have heard but few of us could explain in a few sentences. Simply put, gerrymandering is the practice of manipulating districts to produce a desired election result. The practice is named after Elbridge Gerry, a Revolutionary War era politician who served as both governor of Massachusetts and as the fifth Vice President of the United States for President James Madison. During his time as governor, Gerry advocated for a plan to recreate the voting districts in the state with the goal of giving more power to his political party, the Democratic-Republicans.

Gerrymandering essentially works by “wasting votes”. By putting more votes for those favored to win into districts where they would have already won, it allows the “losers” to win in another district. That definition can still be pretty confusing. Here’s an example to help illustrate the point:

There are two political parties, Party A and Party B, who both want to win in a certain voter district. Party A has 40 votes and Party B has 50. In another district, Party A knows that Party B is a surefire winner. With that knowledge, Party A changes the districts so that 11 Party B votes are moved into that heavily favored Party B district. The result is that Party A will now win with 40 votes over 39. The 11 voters who were moved had their votes “wasted” in the district where their candidate would already win in a landslide.

Gerrymandering: The Bad

The obvious problem with gerrymandering is that it can be used to disenfranchise certain voters by diluting their voting block power. For example, in North Carolina, a historically Black college campus was divided in half; half the students and faculty were now in one district and the other half were in another. As a result, the local Black vote was obviously split--allowing white, male Republican candidate to win in both districts. Black voters feel that by their voting block being divided in an unnatural and unfair way, that it cost them their voice in choosing their representatives.

Gerrymandering: The Good

Many people are surprised to learn that gerrymandering is not an entirely unscrupulous practice. There are scenarios where districts are gerrymandered for positive reasons.

One reason is that gerrymandering to create districts with close races will help to hold elected officials accountable. Here’s an example. Party A’s Rep. Smith feels his elected position is safe because he represents an overwhelmingly Party A district. A Party B candidate would never have a shot at winning. The result is that Rep. Smith may be less likely to be less than zealous about making sure that his actions represent his voters’ wishes.

But if the district lines are gerrymandered, it’s possible to put Rep. Smith in danger of losing his seat to a Party B candidate. This would force Rep. Smith to behave in a way that would make him more politically accountable to his voters. If he does a bad job and loses Party A voters, a Party B candidate could easily pull of a win.

Another possible good result is that gerrymandering can and has been used to guarantee minority representation. In the 1986 Supreme Court case Thornburg v. Gingles, the court held that it is illegal to intentionally or inadvertently dilute the voting power of minorities. As a result, may states (especially in the South) drew new district lines which created new districts with a “majority-minority” population. In other words, black voters would be able to elect their own candidates easily.

The Sister District Project is committed to helping Democratic candidates win more elections at the State level. This year’s efforts are more important than ever. The National Census conducted in 2020 will allow each state to redraw its electoral district maps. This opportunity won’t come up again until 2031. That’s why ensuring that Democrats are well-represented in our state legislatures after the 2020 election cycle is absolutely crucial.