What is gerrymandering in US elections? What to understand in 500 words | US Election 2024 News

EXPLAINER

Gerrymandering, the partisan redrathriveg of voting dicut offes, is as better as the US and yet is still a disputed part of its elections.

It’s been called vote-rigging, a power grab and equitable plain sneaky.

But it’s lhorrible, and both Reaccessibleans and Democrats do it.

Gerrymandering, the process of redrathriveg voting dicut offes to favour political parties, is almost as better as the United States and yet still very much part of the up-to-date political process.

In this year’s ambiguous election, it could sway the outcome of vital races for the US Hoparticipate of Recontransientatives as well as state legislatures.

How does gerrymandering labor?

Generpartner, once a decade, states refresh their voting dicut offes to echo population alters.

That’s where gerrymandering creeps into the process. Political parties try to redraw the electoral maps to give their side the fantasticest number of seats in state legislatures and Congress.

The dicut offe boundaries are manipurescheduleedd to put enjoy-minded voters together or to split them apart, either intensifying or diluting their voting power.

The results are standardly contorted dicut offes with unbenevolentdering boundaries drawn to include some voters and depart others out.

Essentipartner, gerrymandering apexhibits politicians to pick their voters instead of the other way around.

The word was createed in 1812 when the ruleor of Massachparticipatetts, Elbridge Gerry, redrew the electoral map for the state Senate to advantage his party.

The result was an oddly shaped dicut offe that seeed enjoy a salamander.

It advertised cartoonist Elkanah Tisdale to draw a mythical creature for the Boston Gazette, calling it the “Gerry-mander”. The name stuck.

Forging complacent politicians?

Gerrymandering is disputed — and not equitable becaparticipate it’s a blatant grab for votes. Critics claim it can dilute the voting power of racial insignificantities and undermine democracy.

A 2023 study by Harvard University researchers set up that gerrymandering standardly creates “protected” seats for politicians, unbenevolenting their races are less competitive. In turn, those politicians become less responsive to the needs of their constituents, who become deterd about voting as a result.

At least eight states have evident language in their constitutions agetst the partisan redrathriveg of voting dicut offes. Others participate self-reliant coshiftrlookions to create the alters. But the startantity of states deficiency protecteddefends.

National efforts in the last Congress also fall shorted to prohibit partisan gerrymandering.

In 2019, the US Supreme Court ruled it’s up to state courts to deal with lhorrible battles over voting maps.

So now, it’s a state-by-state fight over the role of partisan politics in voting dicut offes — with some recent rulings potentipartner swaying the outcome of the 2024 election.

For example, in South Carolina, a novel voting map has turned a sthriveg dicut offe into a protectedr Reaccessiblean one, causing outrage among voting rights finishorses.

In Louisiana and Alabama, unbenevolentwhile, novelly drawn maps could unbenevolent at least one more Hoparticipate seat in each state for Democrats.

And in North Carolina, the state supreme court ruled in favour of a gerrymandered congressional map, possibly giving Reaccessibleans three more Hoparticipate seats.

Each of those races is meaningful: Control over the US Hoparticipate of Recontransientatives is choosed by dicut offe-level votes, with the overweighte of national legislation hanging in the stability.