Gerrymandering, Then and Now
Voters Don't Choose Their Politicians. Politicians Choose Their Voters.
Gerry Mander. I think that I went to high school with him.
Oh, wait………
Gerrymandering then: in his capacity as governor of Massachusetts, an unctuous founding father (Word Police: founding parent) named Elbridge Gerry signed a bill that sliced and diced a Massachusetts county in such a way as to make one district look, to some, like a salamander.
Then and there, the term for manipulating voter representation was coined: Gerry-Mandering.
An excellent background piece on the origins of gerrymandering can be found here: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/where-did-term-gerrymander-come-180964118/
Gerrymandering now: The peculiar political amalgam of opportunism, gamesmanship, power, and revenge (*) associated with the drawing of district lines remains. Amplified through the use of advanced demographics and sophisticated computer modeling, gerrymandering now yields districts in shapes far more contorted and absurd than mere silhouettes of salamanders.
The result? Voters don’t choose their politicians. Politicians choose their voters.
How does your state stack up on the fairness of its redistricting processes and results? See Princeton University’s Gerrymandering Project: https://gerrymander.princeton.edu/
Notes:
(*) In the context of the aphorism "revenge is a dish best served cold” being applied to political foes.
Background:
https://www.democracydocket.com/explainers/redistricting-101-how-politicians-choose-their-voters/
https://thefulcrum.us/worst-gerrymandering-districts-example/1-beside-lake-erie
#elbridgegerry
#gerrymandering