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The Pros And Cons Of Gerrymandering

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Gerrymandering restrictions is likely to be a key topic of debate for the Supreme Court as partisan lines have tested the constitutionality of the act. While this process of redrawing boundary lines has been around for a long time, it is not the same that it once was. The act of gerrymandering and redrawing boundaries has become more of a drastic partisan act in the modern election world than ever before because of technology. The 1986 Supreme Court ruling in Davis v. Bandemer declared partisan gerrymandering for electoral advantage justiciable under the United States Constitution. The asymmetry standard in testing for gerrymandering states that the act needs to exhibit intentions that partisan gerrymandering would be recognized for its given distribution of popular votes, if parties switch who holds the popular vote and if the number of seats in a district would change unequally based on Supreme Court cases Vieth v. Jubelirer and LULAC v. Perry. Unfortunately, this standard is not the precedent established by the Supreme Court. The current argument headed to the Supreme Court in 2017 is that partisan gerrymandering is quietly producing a greater effect on the nation than ever before and needs to be addressed by the highest level of judiciary for its …show more content…

Supreme Court, Section 4 was declared unconstitutional because the discrimination and constraints in voting rights is not the same today that it was fifty years ago. This case represents an argument in favor of the Elections Clause to become the standard for voting rights as it gives legislative authority of this nature to Congress. Through this Clause, there is also an argument in favor of national proportional voting to fight the continued issue of gerrymandering. Beginning with the case of Shelby County v. Holder, the U.S. Supreme Court has the opportunity to redefine the protections and sources of authority defined under voting rights legislation under the new

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Recently, state-issued photo ID has been required in order vote since the law passed in the Texas legislature. This law has caused controversy as it brings up the question over the state’s power in the regulation of elections. “While pending review within the judicial system, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion in Shelby County v. Holder, which effectively ended all pending litigation. As a result, voters are now required to present an approved form of photo identification in order to vote in all Texas Elections” (votetexas.gov). The U.S. Supreme Court struck down on Section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in the Shelby County v. Holder case.

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The other side would argue that the districts aren’t representing the people if they are carefully constructed by the majority leader. They aren’t going to really represent the people they are going to represent the

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The conflict of on party receiving more representation turnout for racial gerrymandering has introduce opposing views to this system. Due to a common focus on racial diversity and representation there has been an increase in programs to solve this issue. Racial gerrymandering tries to repair certain issues although it promotes a single party with unequal representation.

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Gerrymandering is when district lines are drawn in such a way to give a party higher chance of getting there representatives in control of the state. Gerrymandering is a way that the government can control who has power and who does not. There is a lot of controversy behind this though some people think that politicians should not be in charge of drawing the districts that a group of un bias people should draw the boundaries. People that want to keep the process we have now that allows for gerrymandering argue that non bias people do not exist and to give the task to someone different would just lead to more gerrymandering. Gerrymandering is not new in fact its named after the first to do it in the united states Elbridge Gerry

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During political elections, or the presidential election per say, the election process can be hectic. Political parties strenuously work to convince people to favor their candidates. They perform this in order to receive political control and to rise in the governmental system. Two infamous political parties that are always competing are the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. The lure of gerrymandering is enticing because they take control of a state legislature by advancement of redistricting.

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The question or issue presented to the court and the date oral arguments are scheduled to be heard On Tuesday December 8, 2015 the Supreme Court examined if “one-person, one-vote rule” affords eligible voters any reasonable protection? The question for the case was as follows: Does the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment require that districting take into account the number of voters rather than the total population? The Parties in the case Plaintiffs:

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Hello Erik, I really like how you explain gerrymandering. I also agree with you that racial gerrymandering is worse than partisan gerrymandering. Gerrymandering altogether is bad and create a lot of problem and it mess with the result of the election. I really like it when you said “Racial gerrymandering is aimed towards a specific racial group and leads to the unfair and unequal treatment based upon race while partisan gerrymandering is not based upon race.” That pretty much sum it up

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But recently gerrymandering has become more controversial because people feel that it has taken away their rights as a voter and it swings the votes to one side by a big percentage. Current cases are before the courts to decide if gerrymandering is legal. Some states have been discussing whether it should still be allowed during elections. “Many efforts are underway to remedy this political

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As citizens, the only thing that we can do to help fight against gerrymandering would be to use our legislative powers and fight for more transparent and public system within their states to hold elected officials accountable. Even if we were able to fix gerrymandering, it still would not be enough to fix gridlock. If we were able to fix gridlock, it still would not solve close to any of the problems rooted in Washington. It seems as though we are waiting for the problems to fix themselves, but we need to realize it isn't a problem that can fix itself. Each state needs to work within itself every ten

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Gerrymandering Gerrymandering is the redrawing of political boundaries, otherwise known as district lines, in a state to give one party a numeric advantage over the opposing party. This is done by dividing districts up into highly irregular sections to achieve the goal of having voters from a particular party highly concentrated in some areas and thinly scattered in other areas (Donnelly, Fortune). Gerrymandering has been criticized because it violates the two basic principles in electoral designation; compactness and equality of size of constituencies in electoral designation (The Editors, Britannica). There is currently no law against the process of Gerrymandering. However, the current Supreme Court case Gill v. Whitford could change that.

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What is a constituency, and why do constituencies differ for representatives and senators? A constituency is a group of individual voters in a specific area who elect a representative to a legislative body. Constituencies differ for representatives and senators: • Representatives – represent a district or area of a state and sometimes a whole state • Senators – represent the whole state Explain briefly how reapportionment and redistricting work? Why is gerrymandering frowned upon?

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We see multiple successes of voting equality attempted through amendments, however, the Supreme Court’s decision on Shelby County v. Holder has pushed back years and years of effort for voting rights. Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling was in Shelby County’s favor, stating that the Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act was unconstitutional along with Section 5. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr, who wrote the majority’s opinion, said that the power to regulate election was reserved to the states, not the federal government. As a result to the court’s decision, the federal government can no longer determine which voting law discriminates and can be passed. After the case, many states had freely passed new voting laws; the most common voting law states passed

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To accomplish social equality and justice has been a long controversial issue in U.S. history. Voting Rights Act of 1965 should be understood as a tremendous accomplishment today because it not only represent a symbol of the triumph of fighting social injustice, but also open the first gate for African American and minority to strive for more political power in order to create a “great society.”

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The act of redistricting can also isolate voters of a specific party. All these acts are undoubtedly undemocratic and will continue to have a drastic impact on U.S. politics unless it is

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The Great Compromise showed a commitment by the framers to ensuring that no person’s vote be less important because of where they live. The Supreme Court used this and other cases to determine that “the right of suffrage is a fundamental matter in a free and democratic society,” (Reynolds v. Sims). Today, it’s easy to assume that we have more equality in our voting system than ever. That conclusion is difficult to reach unfortunately when examining two things: campaign financing and state wealth and political position.

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