the design of oddly shaped legislative districts to ensure victory by a particular party or ethnic group.
The redrawing of a political district to favor a particular candidate or kind of candidate, e.g. an incumbent, a member of a particular political party or a racial minority.
The distorted drawing of electoral lines to give an unfair advantage to one group. The word comes from a combination of salamander and Elbridge Gerry (I 744-1814), a Revolutionary era governor of Massachusetts and signer of the Declaration of Independence. According to one story, the word has its roots in an electoral district drawn by Gerry's party for the 1812 election that looked like a salamander.
The practice of arranging electoral divisions so that one political party has more power than the other by diluting the other's voting strength.
level: Comprehensive (3) [ order by level] An attempt to draw the district of an elected representative in such a manner as to provide the most favorable constituency to aid in that person's re-election. The U.S. Supreme Court has allowed some variation in shape for legislative districts, but has also struck down those it regards as too irregular in shape.
The act of drawing legislative district boundaries so as to gain partisan or fractional political advantages. GOVERNOR'S PROCLAMATION - The document issued by the governor to convene an extraordinary session of the legislative body.
a process in which a voting district is broken up or the physical boundaries of a voting district are changed in order to make it easier for one political party to win future elections. The term gerrymander was coined in 1812 when a county in Massachusetts was redistricted into a salamander-like shape by Gov. Elbridge Gerry for political purposes. His last name was combined with the word salamander to get "gerrymander."
A practice that could be termed "undemocratic", where the party in power draws electoral or constituency boundaries to its advantage.
The manipulation of district boundary lines in order to unfairly advantage or disadvantage a candidate or political group. Typically used to create a district that is favorable to an incumbent, or a series of districts that allows a particular party or political group to receive more seats than it deserves based in its proportion of the vote.
Drawing of district lines to maximize the electoral advantage of a political party or faction. The term was first used in 1812, when Elbridge Gerry was Governor of Massachusetts, to characterize the State redistricting plan.
Dividing (a geographic area) into voting districts so as to give unfair advantage to one party in elections.
The drawing of non-compact, tortuous districts to benefit a political party. Many so-called gerrymandered districts have been challenged in court. In 1962, the Supreme Court ruled that districts must follow the principles of "one man, one vote" and have fair borders and an appropriate population mixture. The Supreme Court has subsequently found that manipulating districts to give an advantage to one political party was unconstitutional.
drawing the boundaries of an election district so that one party or group has a significant advantage. The strategy generally used is to concentrate opposition votes in a few districts, while spreading out the rest of the opposition over many districts. Gerrymandering is often used to help get candidates of a particular party elected, or to help increase minority representation in government.
The deliberate manipulation of district boundaries so as to advantage or disadvantage a particular interest.
The manipulation of legislative district boundaries to benefit a particular party, politician or minority group.
Gerrymandering is a controversial form of redistricting in which electoral district or constituency boundaries are manipulated for an electoral advantage. The word "gerrymander" is named for the American politician Elbridge Gerry (July 17, 1744 – November 23, 1814), Gerry pronounced his name (with a hard G) and is a blend of his name with the word "salamander," which was used to describe the appearance of a tortuous electoral district Gerry created in order to disadvantage his electoral opponents. "Gerrymander" is used both as a verb meaning "to commit gerrymandering" as well as a noun describing the resulting electoral geography.
