Since the birth of democracy, political parties have been trying to gain an advantage over others through a variety of different methods. Things like rallies and advertisements are par for the course, but a more controversial practice is the use of Gerrymandering in politics. Most people have a general idea of Gerrymandering, as it is the “drawing the boundaries of electoral districts in a way that gives one party an unfair advantage over its rivals” (The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica). A significant number of people believe that Gerrymandering damages democracy and rigs elections; however, after extensive research on the concept of Gerrymandering, I have concluded that Gerrymandering, when not overtly abused, can actually strengthen …show more content…
These people will often bring up the idea that Gerrymandering increases minorities’ representation by granting them their own districts, and thus giving them a voice in how their country is run (Trammell). Proponents of Gerrymandering might also point out that without Gerrymandered districts, states become even more partisan, as red states have all-red representatives, and blue states have all-blue representatives (Trammell). It is through these ideas that proponents of Gerrymandering argue for the continued usage of Gerrymandered …show more content…
Some believe that such a system draws out the larger concerns in the nation. The solution that some people have considered is to have a single district with multiple representatives, but that concept is fundamentally flawed (Trammell). By holding a single district without Gerrymandering, polarization will skyrocket. What that means is that a single state will have all voters vote for all of their representatives, which while it sounds promising on paper, will mean that most states will have solely republican or democratic representatives (Trammell). (It should be noted that some states have only a single representative due to their low populations, which results in a necessity for a single-district system. They are the exception, not the rule (Vitalnet).) By utilizing Gerrymandering, even the most divisive states have minority representation. They say that single-district states would better represent the population, without marginalizing minorities. That is simply not the case, as without a platform, minorities lose a critical tool in making themselves heard. Some believe that this is worth the cost to create better representation in D.C., but such a system would only polarize our already divided nation