gerrymandering

[jambo101]

How much did gerrymandering play a role in this last presidential election.? was it fair or a on par with dirty tricks? and if GOP can gerrymander voting districts to benefit a republican vote why cant Democrats use the same tactic for the next election.?

[LisaM]

1. It played a major, major role.

Nullifying the Voting Rights Act should have been a major, major scandal. Eric Holder worked very hard on equal voting rights, but it just wasn't enough. I think it haunts him. He's still working on it.

[Trust Buster]

2. We can't use that tactic after the 2020 census if the vast majority of state legislatures in this

country continue to be controlled by Republicans.

[Amishman]

3. Presidential? Zero impact. Congressional? Definitely significant

Presidential voting is by state, can't gerrymander Philadelphia into New Jersey.

Congressional? Definitely some, but we are also hurting ourselves with the concentration of our base in dense urban areas. In a way we are inherently gerrymandered to some degree.

That being said, the bullshit meandering districts absolutely hurt and need to be done away with. Districting should be mathematical, with the map defined as the solution that produces the most regular/compact districts as possible. I'd say minimizing the total parameter of all districts is a good standard

Edit: sorry this was meant to be a top level reply. Was not a response to the poster above me