What is gerrymandering?

Gerrymandering is the manipulation of political district boundaries in order to give one political party a better chance of winning an election. In the United States, the practice of gerrymandering is most visible at the state level, as each state creates its own laws about how to draw electoral districts. In Arkansas, gerrymandering occurs when political party leaders get together to plan out electoral district boundaries in order to give their party a better chance of winning elections. Gerrymandering usually involves either “cracking” or “packing” districts. Cracking is when a district is drawn in such a way that it splits up a large number of voters of a certain party so that they don’t have enough to win the election. Packing is when a district is drawn in such a way that it concentrates a large number of voters of a certain party into one district, resulting in them winning the election with a huge majority while simultaneously reducing their influence in other districts. While gerrymandering may give certain political parties an advantage in elections, it is widely seen as being undemocratic. This is because it distorts the will of the people and can lead to a situation where the party that receives the most votes in an election can still lose because of the way districts are drawn. While gerrymandering is still used in many parts of the country, efforts to limit its use are increasing, and the practice is banned in some states, such as California.

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What is gerrymandering?

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