Gerrymandering Essay

Gerrymandering; the process of manipulating district boundaries in order to gain a political advantage, and also one of the most controversial politic topics in today's government. Many people are for, and also against, changing the redistricting process in an effort to eliminate gerrymandering. The textbook and attached video provide answers, and then some to any questions about gerrymandering. To begin, the redistricting process takes place every 10 years. It takes place every ten years because the national census takes place every 10 years, allowing the redistricting to follow directly behind the census. Gerrymandering is a problem with House members mostly because the process of redistricting determines the number of seats each state

As stated in our textbook, “Packing is the heavy concentration of one party's voters in a single district” (Dye 341). Packing is done in order to win more of the districts in the state by cramming all of the members of one party into one district. Many believe this is a form of racism, not power politics. For example, in North Carolina 50% of the black voters are in 2 districts. In California, only one district has changed hands over the last decade. This lock grid districting shows how incumbent gerrymandering is so powerful, essentially making voter’s votes not matter. As a result, Californian voters created a citizens commission to take over the drawing of the new district lines, but the problem wasn't solved. The two Congressmen/women from Florida are defending the redistricting process because they believe that without it, minorities won't be able to elect officials into the district seats. However, a new amendment was passed that required minority voter rights be protected. In addition, the Florida legislature has joined the movement to keep the redistricting process. As stated in an online article, since the Fair Districts Amendment was passed, eight different legislative appointments have been held (Florida Supreme Court Approves Congressional Map Drawn by Challengers). Also, the Florida legislative has been rejected by the Florida Supreme Court four times now. Many other cases have attempted to challenge redistricting in the federal court, such as Vieth v. Jubelirer and Gill v.