Racial Gerrymandering Heads to the Supreme Court

North Carolina's District #12, represented by Democrat Alma Adams

The Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution strictly declares that any citizen's right to vote "shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude." Therefore, all branches of government in each state must protect this fundamental right for all people. This passage, following the Thirteenth Amendment (which abolished slavery in 1865,) helped reverse the provisions present in the document's original form such as the Three-Fifths Compromise. Almost one hundred years later, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 came into effect. This legislation officially prohibited racial discrimination in voting and challenged long-standing, discriminatory norms in the voting process such as literacy tests and the lack of bilingual ballots.

It may come as a surprise to the average voter that, even in 2017, minorities continue to be disenfranchised in the voting system by a little something called gerrymandering.

But first, we must understand the process that allows this to happen, which is the redrawing of legislative districts. In the United States, a census is taken every ten years to record the population and measure the increase or decrease in that count. A growing or shrinking population must be represented in legislative districts, which are consequently redrawn after each census is taken. These districts must be equalized by population and may be required to be compact or contiguous depending on the state.

Back to gerrymandering, which is formally defined as the manipulation of the boundaries of an electoral district in order to favor one party or social demographic. In most states, incumbents (those already in office) typically do the state's redistricting, naturally making this process extremely politically contentious. In order to protect their majority, a party in power may manipulate districts to win votes for certain representatives. Consider the following infographic to better understand how this process works:

It makes sense to divide a state perfectly by representation (like the second example.) However, doing this cannot guarantee equalized and compact districts, and parties in power may want to give themselves a larger advantage when given the chance (like the third column.)

Take a look at the cartoon below for some background on this issue:

This political cartoon was published in 1812 in reaction to newly drawn representative districts in the state of Massachusetts. The body that divided the state did so in a manner that favored governor Elbridge Gerry in the upcoming election, by using their knowledge of the voting demographics in the area. Federalist journalists of the time likened the shape of this district to that of a salamander and combined this with the governor's name, declaring this district to have been "gerrymandered."

The first few minutes of this Crash Course video provides a brief history of gerrymandering:

So, how is this a current event? Well, gerrymandering is not a new phenomenon, as it has occurred throughout the majority of American political history. Recently, however, legislative districts in North Carolina (below) have been reviewed by the Supreme Court and declared unconstitutional and in violation of the Voting Rights Act.

Map depicting the legislative districts of North Carolina (2012-2014) recently struck down by the Supreme Court

While the shape of these districts is just plain ridiculous, their other characteristics are being called into question. Those who created the maps like the one above have been heavily criticized for 'packing' African Americans into only two legislative districts (consider the fact that this demographic tends to vote for Democrats overwhelmingly,) therefore giving them less representation the next time a Congressional election comes around.

This issue is not far from home, either. While 40% of Connecticut residents tend to vote for Republicans, all five Connecticut seats in the House of Representatives are held by Democrats. Simple mental math shows that two of our Reps. should be Republicans if CT districts were to be drawn perfectly proportionally. The article No More Gerrymanders: Transforming Connecticut into One At-Large Super District by Fairvote does a great job in pointing out the problems with our local electoral system. Here's an image of our district (#5.)

Use the following links to get a better understanding of the two types of gerrymandering: racial and political, as well as the four tactics of gerrymandering: cracking, packing, hijacking, and kidnapping:

This is the best explanation of gerrymandering you will ever see - from The Washington Post

The Hurdles to Ending Gerrymandering - from BYLINE

The following articles go into more detail about the events unfolding in North Carolina:

The Supreme Court Finds North Carolina's Racial Gerrymandering Unconstitutional - from The Atlantic

Justices Reject 2 Gerrymandered North Carolina Districts, Citing Racial Bias - from The New York Times

North Carolina given deadline to draw new maps in gerrymandering case - from Fox News

Use the links and media provided to formulate an understanding on this topic and respond to the following questions.

1. Should the federal government step in and regulate the process of redistricting?
2. What are the advantages of having perfectly representative districts (that reflect the exact percentages of votes by party when electing officials?) Are there any disadvantages?
3. Racial gerrymandering is obviously unconstitutional. But, what about political gerrymandering? Is it the right of the party in power to try to protect their majority?
4. Based on your knowledge of the topic, does gerrymandering typically aid in the election of Democrats or Republicans? How?
5. In our current political climate, is this issue important enough to be talked about?