Definition of Gerrymandering

What does the term "gerrymandering" mean? What is meant by the term "gerrymandering"?

"Gerrymandering" refers to the process of manipulating geographic boundaries in order to create a political advantage.

For instance - let's say that you have a county that includes a fairly large city that tends to be liberal, and a suburb area that tends to be conservative.

Let's say that the county was to be divided up into three different districts. The Republicans would obviously prefer that one district include the majority of the highly urbanized area (the city), with the other two districts consisting of the conservative suburbs. The Republicans would obviously have next to no chance to win the district that included the major city, but they would have a very good chance of winning the other two.

On the other hand, Democrats would want portions of the city to be included in each of the three districts, as the city tends to be more liberal.

Gerrymandering leads to some very odd-shaped districts.

Incumbent gerrymandering occurs when an incumbent "redraws" a district in order to maintain a competitive advantage. For instance, a Democratic incumbent might redraw district lines in order to include more urban areas.


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