Technology
Redistricting, Gerrymandering, and Racial Vote Dilution
Quick fact
The term 'gerrymander' was coined in 1812 when Massachusetts Governor Elbridge Gerry signed a redistricting plan that created a salamander-shaped district, and a cartoonist dubbed it the 'Gerry-mander'. Since then, partisan and racial gerrymandering have been repeatedly challenged in courts, and racial vote dilution was explicitly outlawed by the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and its amendments.
Why this is interesting
Have you ever looked at a voting district map and seen a shape that looks like a dragon or a snake? That’s not an accident—it’s a tool that can decide who wins elections and whose voice gets heard.