Gerrymandering Pros And Cons

“Political gerrymandering makes the incentive for most members of Congress to play to the extremes of their base rather than to the center” (Obama, n.d.). Redistricting Happens after every census because the house seats are reapportioned between the states. Gerrymandering in U.S. politics, takes place when voting districts are restructured to benefit one political party over the other in elections. “The term is derived from the name of Governor Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts, whose administration enacted a law in 1812 defining new state senatorial districts. The law consolidated the Federalist Party vote in a few districts and thus gave disproportionate representation to Democratic-Republicans. The outline of one of these districts was thought

to resemble a salamander generating the term Gerrymandering” (Britannica, 2017).
Gerrymandering can affect any government with district elections.

City councils, boards of education, county boards of supervisors, state legislatures and even the U.S. House of Representatives can all be gerrymandered during redistricting. In addition, gerrymandering can be classified into three categories: partisan, incumbent, and racial. First, partisan gerrymandering occurs when the party in control of the redistricting process intentionally draws the map to benefit and increase the power of a particular political party over the other to help win more seats in the legislature or to protect the ones that they already have. Second, incumbent gerrymandering takes place with the redrawing of boundaries in a bipartisan manner in order to benefit incumbents on both sides of the aisles. The incumbents are the Republicans and Democrats that are currently in office and only help each other get re-elected. Third, racial gerrymandering occurs when states deliberately draw their maps to ensure whites would win every district, therefore, making it difficult for many minority races to elect the candidate of their choice. Tie

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Racial gerrymandering refers to the intentional segregation of voters on the basis of race which occurs when the redistricting of the map drawing of voting district is intentionally drawn with lines in odd shapes for the sole purpose of giving specific racial groups undue voting representation.

Furthermore, Racial gerrymandering separates voters in different districts on the basis of race without “sufficient justification” for doing so. Voters are protected by the Equal Protections Clause of the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution which took effect in 1868. Stating, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws” (U.S. Constitution 14th Amendment , n.d.).

In 2011, “The U.S. Supreme Court found that 28 districts — 19 in the state House and nine in the Senate — were drawn in a way that diluted the power of black voters” (Jacobs, 2017). With one state being North Carolina, their plans of redistricting meant that many African American voters would not get an equal and fair chance to have their voice heard in the elections. For example, in Nash County, North

Carolina there are majority white people, while in Edgecombe County the majority is African Americans. These partisan drawn maps have been seen to only support Republicans.
First, gerrymandering should be eliminated from politics based on one of the strategies of gerrymandering packing, a method that minimizes the impact of a voting block. This is turn occurs when redistricting places as many voters in one party into one electoral district, so that they have a minimal impact or influence in other voting districts. The advantage of packing for the candidate is that the citizens of the districts who share the same views and opinions on issues in their communities’ votes become wasted. This is turn, spreads opposition supporters across many districts, but always in the minority as well as wins all districts by having slightly more voters of the majority party in each district. However, the disadvantage of packing is that it does not gives each party an equal opportunity to win in those districts.
Next, gerrymandering should be eliminated from politics because it limits the chance for more minorities to exhibit their voting powers during elections. On one hand, gerrymandering seems to discriminate against minorities. On the other hand, it gives underrepresented groups a voice. There are not many African American and Hispanic men and women in the government. In my opinion, the ones that are currently in office do not use their platform and voice to impact change on many issues. More representation of minorities in Congress can help us have a stronger voice and demand solutions for issues and problems that plague our communities and in turn, create a more diverse Congress.
Last, gerrymandering should be eliminated from politics because it can limit the minority influence in surrounding districts and affect the number of representatives a district can have. On one hand, instead of having two candidates to vote for, they would only have one due to majority- minority districts. On the other hand, it can decrease their influence in white-dominated districts. Gerrymandering leads to the influence of the lobbyists who invest in politics to help themselves.