gerrymandering

noun

ger·​ry·​man·​der·​ing ˈjer-ē-ˌman-d(ə-)riŋ 

 also  ˈger-;

 originally  ˈger-

: the practice of dividing or arranging a territorial unit into election districts in a way that gives one political party an unfair advantage in elections

To an untrained eye, the proposed boundaries look like the etchings of a mapmaker on heavy pharmaceuticals. In reality, it's a masterpiece of diabolical gerrymandering.

—Carl Hiaasen

Bipartisan gerrymandering following the 2000 reapportionment produced hundreds of safe Democratic seats, hundreds of safe Republican seats, and not much else.

—Peter Beinart

compare cracking, packing

Examples of gerrymandering in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

From gerrymandering and stringent voter ID laws to the purging of voter rolls and the reduction of polling places in predominantly Black neighborhoods, these measures threaten to disenfranchise millions of Black Americans. —Lenwood V. Long, Sr., Forbes, 5 Sep. 2024

With this simple change, Canada got rid of gerrymandering. —Olivia Ardito, Chicago Tribune, 1 Aug. 2024

Last April, the state supreme court overturned a 2022 ruling made by the previous panel that said partisan gerrymandering violated the state constitution, opening the door for the legislature to draw an advantageous map for Republicans. —Cooper Burton, ABC News, 9 Oct. 2024

Statewide redistricting amendment An Ohio constitutional amendment proposes to again change the system for drawing state and federal legislative maps to curb gerrymandering. —Sam Allard, Axios, 7 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

gerrymander entry 2 + -ing entry 1

First Known Use

1812, in the meaning defined above