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Map Shows Most Gerrymandered States [1]

['Joe Edwards', 'Tom Rogers', 'Susan Del Percio', 'William E. Trachman']

Date: 2024-06-20 04:59:53-04:00

Gerrymandering remains a contentious issue in American politics, but which states twist and turn their voting maps the most?

Newsweek has mapped the most gerrymandered states, based on data from the World Population Review.

Much of the worst gerrymandering was concentrated in parts of the Southern and Northeastern United States. The 11 worst offenders were North Carolina, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Louisiana, Arkansas, Utah, Texas, Ohio, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

According to the report, Wisconsin is considered the most gerrymandered state in America, although the practice is present in all states.

In 2022, voters in Wisconsin elected a Democratic governor, attorney general, and secretary of state. These appointments were unaffected by gerrymandering as they used the statewide vote. However, Republicans maintained a 64-35 and 21-11 majority in the state Assembly and Senate respectively, enabled by Republican-drawn maps that favored its party's candidates in districts across the state.

In February, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers signed new maps into law which he said would ensure the state "will not have the most gerrymandered maps in America."

The World Population Review analysis also drew on Texas' post-2020 redistricting, which FiveThirtyEight analysts have suggested may have represented "the worst gerrymander in the country," and gerrymandering in Pennsylvania, which "dilutes the interests of major urban areas [...] by dividing them among other districts.

In 2016, gerrymandering in Ohio resulted in the party which drew the maps winning 75 percent of seats in the Ohio State Senate on just 50 to 60 percent of the votes.

What Is Gerrymandering?

The term "gerrymander" dates to 1812 when Governor Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts' administration enacted a law defining new state senatorial districts.

This consolidated the Federalist Party vote in a handful of districts, resulting in disproportionate representation for the Democratic-Republicans. The district's contorted shape was said to resemble a salamander, leading to the term "Gerrymander."

Gerrymandering faces criticism for being undemocratic, letting politicians choose their voters instead of the other way around. This can lead to less competitive elections, lower voter turnout, voters feeling disenfranchised and political polarization.

The term "gerrymander" stems from this Gilbert Stuart cartoon of a Massachusetts electoral district. Gerrymandering remains a contentious issue in American politics. The term "gerrymander" stems from this Gilbert Stuart cartoon of a Massachusetts electoral district. Gerrymandering remains a contentious issue in American politics. Getty Images

"Gerrymandering, by creating 'safe' electoral seats, is one of the most important drivers of polarization on Capitol Hill," Thomas Gift, associate professor of political science and founding director of the UCL Centre on U.S. Politics at University College London, told Newsweek. "It ensures that the only genuine competition that House members face is from the flanks of their parties in the primaries.

"Because primaries are generally low-turnout affairs dominated by extreme partisans, Republicans are incentivized to move to their political right, and Democrats are incentivized to move to their political left. Moderates lose out, and the result is the kind of dysfunctional, hyper-partisan politics that's become so familiar in Washington."

"By creating safe seats for each party, it means the election is actually determined in the primaries. As primaries attract only the most committed and ideologically extreme partisans, the most winning candidates run to the political poles in order to win," said Andrew Wroe, senior lecturer in American politics at the University of Kent. "This contributes to the increasing political polarization that is undermining the functioning of American democracy.

"Sophisticated data and computer programs allow very fine gradations of gerrymandering," Wroe added.

"Neither party has a monopoly on gerrymandering," Gift said. "Both Democrats and Republicans are guilty of redrawing electoral maps to points of absurdity, and both have used gerrymandering as a weapon when it's been politically convenient."

Update, 6/20/24, 9:40 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.

Do you have a story we should be covering? Do you think your state suffers from a gerrymandering problem? Contact [email protected]

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[1] Url: https://www.newsweek.com/map-shows-most-gerrymandered-states-wisconsin-1915098

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