Gerrymandering

How It Works

Gerrymandering is made possible because elections are often held by district, and it is more likely to exist in electoral systems with single-member districts. The U.S. Constitution requires a census every 10 years for the purpose of apportioning seats in the House of Representatives but specifies only that they be elected “as directed by law.” During the 1800s, rules were made to elect members of the House of Representatives from districts. Following a disputed election in New Jersey in 1842, an act of Congress stated that districts must determine congressional seats, but Congress was vague on the specifics of how the rule would be enforced.

To get an idea of how the drawing of lines might influence the outcome of elections, consider a square state. Party A is the majority party statewide, and most of its members are concentrated in the northern two-thirds of the state. Party B is the minority party statewide but holds a majority in the southern one-third of the state. If the districts are drawn from north to south, each district will be controlled by Party A. However, drawing the lines east to west will give Party A control of the southern districts.

Three types of gerrymander generally are recognized, and each can affect minorities. In cracking, a significant minority population is spread over several districts to dilute its voting strength in any one district. In stacking, a large concentration of minority voters are combined with the White population to create districts with a White majority, effectively wasting the minority votes. The final type, packing, results in a minority seat, as a large number of minority voters are put in a district that already has many minorities. However, the result is that minority influence in neighboring districts is reduced or eliminated.

Gerrymandering and Race

Before the Civil War, slaves could not vote and freed Blacks were often denied that right. Immediately after the war, African Americans won congressional seats in the South. Following the end of Reconstruction in 1876, however, African American representation diminished as a result of gerrymandering and other tactics such as [Page 545]poll taxes, literacy tests, grandfather clauses, and intimidation. In North Carolina, the congressional lines were drawn to create a district that was overwhelmingly African American, thereby limiting the influence of Blacks in neighboring districts. George H. White, who represented this district, was the last African American of the post-Reconstruction era to hold a congressional seat; his last reelection was in 1898.

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