Debate Desk
Is Gerrymandering Only a Republican Problem in American Politics?
Both parties draw maps for advantage; the Supreme Court held in 2019 that federal courts cannot decide partisan cases, so fair maps need state reform.
The claim
Critics argue that Republicans have engineered district lines to lock in majorities, using sophisticated software to draw maps that waste opposing votes, and that this has undermined fair elections.
The answer in three points
- Gerrymandering is as old as the republic and both parties practice it. The term comes from Elbridge Gerry, the Massachusetts governor whose party drew an odd-shaped district in 1812. Whoever controls the map-drawing process in a state tends to draw it to their advantage.
- Examples exist on both sides. Maryland Democrats drew a congressional map that a court later found problematic in the Supreme Court's Rucho case, and Republicans drew North Carolina's. Illinois, New York and California have maps drawn by Democrats that are described as highly favorable to them, and Texas and Florida have Republican-drawn maps.
- The Supreme Court held in Rucho v. Common Cause (2019) that partisan gerrymandering claims are political questions beyond the reach of federal courts. The remedy lies with states: independent commissions, clear rules about compactness and keeping communities together, and citizens' initiatives. The Constitution leaves redistricting to state legislatures subject to Congress.
Voters of both parties have an interest in maps that are drawn openly and judged by clear rules. Pressing your own legislature for such rules is more productive than blaming the other party for doing what yours does when it can.
The numbers
- The Supreme Court decided Rucho v. Common Cause in 2019 by a 5-to-4 vote, holding that partisan gerrymandering claims present political questions.
- The term "gerrymander" dates to a 1812 Massachusetts district drawn under Governor Elbridge Gerry, according to the Library of Congress.
- Several states, including Arizona, California and Michigan, use independent commissions for some or all redistricting, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
What they will say next
"Republicans do it more effectively." They have controlled more state legislatures at the time of redistricting in some cycles, and Democrats have done the same where they were in control. The incentive is the same.
"Independent commissions are the answer." They are a promising model, and conservatives and others can support them. The choice belongs to each state's voters and legislature.
"Courts should step in." The Court explained that there are no neutral standards for deciding how much partisanship is too much. State courts may apply state constitutions with more room.
"Fair maps would end polarization." They would help in some places, and polarization has many roots, including the sorting of voters by geography.
A fair map is one that voters can trust whichever party drew it, and states should seek that.
"Computers make gerrymandering more precise." They do, and they can also be used to find fair maps by testing thousands of alternatives. A state that writes clear criteria into law and asks a commission to apply them can use the same tools to serve voters.