“ The compactness of a district - a measure of how irregular its shape is, as determined by the ratio of the area of the district to the area of a circle with the same perimeter-- can serve as a useful proxy for how gerrymandered the district is. Districts that follow a generally regular shape tends to be compact, while those that have a lot of squiggles and offshoots and tentacle-looking protuberances tend to score poorly on this measure"
Gerrymandering is the intentional manipulation of an electoral boundary with the intent to obtain political advantage for a particular party or group. From my understanding the process of extending boundaries could be very complex. There is no guarantee that this process would secure the number of seats that are required for a particular party to be successful. Additionally, it can also give opponents a major advantage which can sometimes be sometimes detrimental to the party (and even cause the opposing to party to win.
An example of ineffective gerrymandering is in the 2012 election, where the Democrats won 5 out of the 18 seats (fewer than one third), due to the redrawing of the states congressional districts; yet were still successful in winning the elections.
In a State of the Union speech, President Barack Obama called for lawmakers and the public to take a step “to change the system to reflect our better selves for a better politics.” He requested that we put an end to partisan gerrymandering.
Here are some questions that I have asked myself and I think we all should ask ourselves as well.
- If electoral boundaries can be manipulated, what else can be or would be manipulation?
- Who does Gerrymandering benefit?
Realistically speaking, gerrymandering is technically a form of cheating. Taking this into consideration, the election is not in fact fair, rather it is a gamble. Additionally, this process is intended to weaken the political powers of minority voters who play an essential part of elections.
While this process can go either way for both parties, I would like to say that I am more of a realist and believe that the law of attraction takes it natural course and that honesty and fairness will be the way.
The voice of the people and their needs should be heard and that is what really matters.
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