In 1812, Massachusetts Governor Elbridge Gerry re-arranged the districts of some representatives to make it easier for his political party to win more seats in the Congress. The Boston Gazette newspaper noted that one of the districts was long, narrow, and irregularly shaped, and that it resembled a salamander. The term "Gerry-mander" was quickly applied to this district, and to the practice of drawing district boundaries to give political advantage to one party over another.
An congressional district that has been drawn by legislature in a very odd shape can be described as gerrymandered. There are 435 congressional districts in the United States.
You might describe it as a gerrymander.
states!
State legislatures in each state are responsible for drawing congressional district boundaries. There are 435 congressional districts in the United States.
Gerrymander
Majority-Minority Districts
A Congressional District that has been drawn to an 'odd' shape is said to be Gerrymandered.The name comes from the name of a Massachusetts governor in 1812 who engineered the reshaping of election districts to assure the outcome of elections.Gerrymander comes from a combination of Gerry (his name) + "...mander" (a weird looking, imaginary beast.)
They are based on population
You might describe it as a gerrymander.
Once every ten years, based on the results of the nationwide census, Congressional Districts are eligible to be re-drawn to coincide with population so that there is the "Equal Representation" in Congress required by the Constitution..
Once every ten years, based on the results of the nationwide census, Congressional Districts are eligible to be re-drawn to coincide with population so that there is the "Equal Representation" in Congress required by the Constitution..
No matter where the lines are drawn, some groups and interest are benfited while others are harmed. Nonetheless, many states continued to draw congressional district lines that favored rural over urban areas. In Wesberry vs. Sanders (1964) the Supreme Court adopted the rule od "one person, one vote." Congressional district lines now must be drawn on the basis of population after each 10 year census. According to the Court, the population in each district must be mathmatically equal to other districts in the state. Gerrymandering remains a fact of American political life.
Once every ten years, based on the results of the nationwide census, Congressional Districts are eligible to be re-drawn to coincide with population so that there is the "Equal Representation" in Congress required by the Constitution..
Once every ten years, based on the results of the nationwide census, Congressional Districts are eligible to be re-drawn to coincide with population so that there is the "Equal Representation" in Congress required by the Constitution..