Throughout American history, gerrymandering has been used increasingly by political parties to create safe districts that protect their power in both congress and state legislatures. In recent years, gerrymandering has seen pushback from both groups and politicians that advocate for free and fair elections. Some candidates, like Kate Barr in North Carolina, are even running in districts they know are impossible for them to win in with the purpose of raising awareness against gerrymandering.
What is Gerrymandering?
Gerrymandering is the act of deliberately drawing unfair voting districts so that one particular party can have the advantage. ‘Gerrymandering’ as a term first saw usage in 1812. According to the historian John Ward Dean, it was coined at a dinner party hosted by a prominent Federalist. It originally referred to the redistricting of State Senate Districts in Massachusetts signed into law by Governor Elbridge Gerry. More specifically, one particular district which was drawn as a creature that someone noted to look like a Salamander, or better yet, a Gerry-mander. Gerrymandering has since seen wide-scale usage by every party with power, with some even going so far as to say that it is a part of the Jim Crow legacy. The issue with partisan gerrymandering is that it works to create lower turnout, trust, power in voters,and a lack of engagement for legislators.
How Gerrymandering Silenced Voters
Gerrymandering’s usage today has created a weakened democracy. One example is when it harmed minority voters in purple and red states, and this has only gotten worse post the 2018 Supreme Court case of Rucho v. Common Cause saying that Federal courts can only decide on racial gerrymandering. The issue is that the difference between racial and partisan gerrymandering is very blurry, as partisanship tends to go along racial lines in the south, where the majorities of Black and LGBTQ+ Americans live. It is hard to distinguish political gerrymandering from racial gerrymandering, and this leads to many cases where minority voters can be disenfranchised with little pushback.
One such case of gerrymandering is North Carolina Senate District 7. The senate district is home to Wilmington, a city that was once home to a racially diverse and city population. Due to this racial diversity in government, in the year 1898, Wilmington’s government was couped by white supremacists. The government was overthrown and the city’s black population was driven out and lost all of its political power. This coup was the only successful coup in American history, but that destruction of power for Wilmington’s Black Voters has carried on into 2024. When the North Carolina General Assembly redistricted for the 2024 election, they deliberately carved out the downtown of Wilmington, which is majority black. Through talking with voter Carlette Grissette, I was able to better understand how the redistricting has affected her and fellow voters. This is what she had to say:
“Gerrymandering has had a notable impact on my district and neighboring Democratic precincts. Specifically, areas…comprising a high concentration of Black Democratic voters, have been merged into a heavily Republican district…severely hindering our ability to effectively represent our diverse constituents. This is a deliberate attempt to disenfranchise me and my neighbors…”
Gerrymandering not only affects voters, it also affects opposition candidates like Kate Barr. Kate Barr is another North Carolinian: she’s running for the NC Senate District 37 and she knows she can’t win, as one can see in her campaign ads, which all end with “Kate Barr Can’t Win”. After asking Kate Barr for a statement on how gerrymandering has affected her as an opposition candidate, she said this:
“Competition is good for democracy. Choice is good for voters. The Republicans in Raleigh drew district maps that rob North Carolinians of both. And they hoped we wouldn't notice. [...] our representatives and senators no longer answer to us.”
Focusing on one major thing she said, “Our representatives and senators no longer answer to us” we can really see how gerrymandering is affecting us. One such example of politicians not listening in North Carolina is the 12 week abortion ban. A 2022 poll by the non-partisan group, Carolina Forward, found that the majority of North Carolina voters (up to 55%) did not support anti-choice legislation. Unfortunately every Republican legislator, including one’s who made campaign promises to protect abortion, voted along party lines for the 12 week ban.
In the same vein, this can also work to create unengaged legislators. For example, an MIT election lab study found that when redistricting is controlled by politicians, they are less likely to introduce bills. The study, done during the 115th congress, found that members from states in which politicians controlled the redistricting produced, on average, 100 less bills than members from states where independent commissions controlled redistricting.
Why This Matters
America has seen increased partisanship, leading people to wanting their party to win no matter how it happens. However, free and fair elections are seen as the ultimate right in our country–it is what makes America so exceptional. Gerrymandering has created an environment in our democracy, where people do not feel represented, and often feel they cannot trust their own elected officials.
The Solutions
Now, one may be asking, “how can we solve this?”. There is a very complicated answer to that question as every solution has both pros and cons:
Independent Redistricting Commissions: Independent Redistricting Commissions are made up of non-politician members, usually ones who apply to join the commission. The pros for this is that members can be picked but have to adhere to strict standards set by either Constitutions or federal law, they also allow voters to submit public comments at public hearings. The cons are that commissions can be gridlocked if members hold strong partisan leanings or the commissions are packed with members that support one party.
Algorithmic Redistricting: Computer Algorithms that are written specifically to avoid any bias whether racial or political. Pros for this are that the algorithms can be made to adhere to the strictest of standards like population, location, and racial makeup. The cons are that algorithms have to be written and, like Independent Redistricting Commissions, can be made to have strong leans towards supporting one party
Changing The Way Legislators Are Elected: Currently, legislators are elected in single-member districts; however in countries like Germany, legislators are elected based on how many votes their party gets as a whole at the national level. The pros to this are that representation is proportionate, third parties have more of a chance, and there is no way to draw districts that are gerrymandered. The major issue with this is that there is a lack of a relationship between legislators and their constituents. Unfortunately, we cannot do any of this until we make our voices heard.
Gerrymandering silences the voices of voters and stifles the democratic process, not only by blocking opposing candidates, but also by diluting the power of voters by either forcing them all into the same districts or cracking them into many other districts. Gerrymandering has been an issue in America since the 19th century, and until we solve this issue, we cannot truly call ourselves the land of the free. It is on us, the constituency, to reach out to our elected officials and make our voices heard, it is up to us to say “enough is enough”.
Resouces
Carolina Forward. “NC Voters Reject New Abortion Bans.” Carolina Forward, 10 May 2023, https://carolinaforward.org/blog/voters-reject-abortion-bans/. Accessed . August 2024.
Cornell Law School. “RUCHO v. COMMON CAUSE | Supreme Court | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute.” Law.Cornell.Edu, 27 June 2019, https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/18-422. Accessed 26 September 2024.
Expert Brief. “Americans Are United Against Partisan Gerrymandering.” Brennan Center for Justice, 15 March 2019, https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/americans-are-united-against-partisan-gerrymandering. Accessed . August 2024.
Hyde, Aryanna, and Edwin Santana. “Gerrymandering, Turnout, and Lazy Legislators.” MIT Election Lab, 3 September 2021, https://electionlab.mit.edu/articles/gerrymandering-turnout-and-lazy-legislators. Accessed 26 September 2024.
Learn ArcGIS. “American Redistricting History.” Learn ArcGIS, 21 January 2021, https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/ecb5f26e23224fffaba4578af3df84cb. Accessed . August 2024.
n/a. “Block the Vote: How Politicians are Trying to Block Voters from the Ballot Box | ACLU.” American Civil Liberties Union, 17 August 2021, https://www.aclu.org/news/civil-liberties/block-the-vote-voter-suppression-in-2020. Accessed . August 2024.
n/a. “1898 Wilmington Coup.” NC DNCR, n/a, https://www.dncr.nc.gov/1898-wilmington-coup. Accessed . August 2024.
Trickey, Erick. “Where Did the Term “Gerrymander” Come From?” Smithsonian Magazine, 20 July 2017, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/where-did-term-gerrymander-come-180964118/. Accessed . August 2024.