Civics Quiz

Gerrymandering is the practice of redrawing electoral district boundaries to give an unfair advantage to a political party or group.

The term came from Massachusetts Governor Elbridge Gerry’s 1812 redistricting plan, which included a district shaped like a salamander—hence “Gerry-mander.”

Partisan gerrymandering is intended to weaken the opposing party’s influence by spreading or concentrating their votes in certain ways.

Gerrymandering can result in unfair representation where the distribution of legislative seats doesn’t match the actual vote totals.

In Shaw v. Reno (1993), the Court ruled that districts drawn primarily based on race can violate the Equal Protection Clause.