What does gerrymandering mean?
Gerrymandering is the deliberate manipulation of electoral district boundaries to give one political party, candidate, or coalition an advantage. The term can name the practice as a noun or describe the act of reshaping districts as a verb. Gerrymandering commonly involves arranging constituencies so that voters supporting one party are distributed inefficiently, while supporters of another are concentrated in districts they are likely to win. The word is therefore associated with contested elections, unequal representation, and accusations that a governing party has distorted the electoral system for its own advantage. It is especially prominent in political debate in the United States, where many elections use single-member districts, but it is also used in Britain and other countries with constituency-based electoral systems. Although all electoral boundaries must sometimes be adjusted, gerrymandering specifically implies manipulation intended to produce a partisan result. The word is both technically useful for describing electoral design and politically charged when used to allege deliberate wrongdoing.
The deliberate manipulation of electoral district boundaries to favor a political party, candidate, or group.
"The court ruled that the proposed redistricting amounted to unconstitutional gerrymandering."
Usually used critically, although it also functions as a neutral analytical term in political science and electoral-law discussions.
To create or manipulate electoral districts in a way intended to give one party or candidate an unfair advantage.
"Lawmakers accused one another of attempting to gerrymander the state legislature after the census."
The verb is transitive when it takes a legislature, district, or electoral map as its object; it may also be used intransitively.
The plural is used for individual instances or schemes of manipulated redistricting; the process or general practice is usually expressed by the uncountable noun.
"The commission rejected two proposed gerrymanders because they favored one political coalition."
A former Massachusetts governor gave gerrymandering its name—then watched it become a byword for democracy rigged at the drawing board.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does gerrymandering come from?
The word originated in early nineteenth-century American political satire and is associated with Elbridge Gerry, the governor of Massachusetts. Its form is generally explained as a jocular alteration of “Gerry-mandate,” used for one of the districts associated with Gerry and later shortened and modified to “gerrymander.” Modern gerrymandering developed from this political term into a general description of partisan manipulation of electoral boundaries. It is an English political compound rather than a word inherited directly from Latin or Greek.
Related word forms
How gerrymandering is actually used
The term is used chiefly in electoral politics and is especially common in British and American public debate. It is strongly critical when used as an accusation, though political scientists, lawyers, and journalists also employ it neutrally when analyzing how electoral districts are drawn.
Easily confused with gerrymandering
Gerrymander is primarily the verb meaning to manipulate electoral districts, whereas gerrymandering is commonly the gerund or the noun naming the practice.