Gerrymandering

Gerrymandering ( JERR-ee-, originally GHERR-ee-), defined in the contexts of representative electoral systems, is the political manipulation of electoral district boundaries to advantage a party, group, or socioeconomic class within the constituency. The manipulation may involve "cracking" (diluting the voting power of the opposing party's supporters across many districts) or "packing" (concentrating the opposing party's voting power in one district to reduce their voting power in other districts). Gerrymandering can also be used to protect incumbents. Wayne Dawkins, a professor at Morgan State University, describes it as politicians picking their voters instead of voters picking their politicians. The term gerrymandering is a portmanteau of a salamander and Elbridge Gerry, Vice President of the United States until his death, who, as governor of Massachusetts in 1812, signed a bill that created a partisanly-drawn district in the Boston area that was thought to be similar to the shape of a salamander. The term has negative connotations, and gerrymandering is almost always considered a corruption of the democratic process. The word gerrymander can be used either as an action verb or to describe the process of creating a gerrymander.