"Gerrymandering Gerrymandering is a practice intended to establish a political advantage for a particular party or group by manipulating district boundaries. The resulting district is known as a gerrymander (); however, that word is also a verb for the process. The term ""gerrymandering"" has negative connotations. Two principal tactics are used in gerrymandering: ""cracking"" (i.e. diluting the voting power of the opposing party's supporters across many districts) and ""packing"" (concentrating the opposing party's voting power in one district to reduce their voting power in other districts). A third tactic, shown in the top-left diagram in the graphic to the right,"
"Redistribution (election) Redistribution is the process, used in many Commonwealth countries, by which electoral districts are added, removed, or otherwise changed. Redistribution is a form of boundary delimitation that changes electoral district boundaries, usually in response to periodic census results. Redistribution is required by law or constitution at least every decade in most representative democracy systems that use first-past-the-post or similar electoral systems to prevent geographic malapportionment. The act of manipulation of electoral districts to favour a candidate or party is called gerrymandering. In Australia, redistributions are carried out by independent and non-partisan commissioners in the Commonwealth, and in each"
"Realigning election A realigning election (often called a critical election, political realignment, or critical realignment) a term from political science and political history describing a dramatic change in the political system. Scholars frequently apply the term to American elections and occasionally to other countries. Usually it means the coming to power for several decades of a new coalition, replacing an old dominant coalition of the other party as in 1896 when the Republican Party (GOP) became dominant, or 1932 when the Democratic Party became dominant. More specifically, it refers to American national elections in which there are sharp changes in"
"those in opposition of the party in charge of redistricting are placed into one larger district, therefore reducing the party's congressional representation. Cracking refers to diluting the voting power of opposition voters across many districts by redrawing congressional boundaries so that voting minority populations in each district are reduced, therefore lowering the chance of a district-oriented congressional takeover. Both techniques lead to what the Times describes as ""wasted votes,"" which are votes that don't supply a party with any victory. These can either be a surplus of votes in one district for one party that are above the threshold needed"
"to win, or any vote that has resulted in a loss. A study done by the University of Delaware mentions situations in which an incumbent that is required to live in the district they represent can be ""hijacked"" or ""kidnapped"" into a neighboring district due to the redrawing of congressional boundaries, subsequently placing them in districts that are more difficult for them to win in. Partisan gerrymandering often times leads to benefits for a particular political party, or, in some cases, a race. Partisan gerrymandering, which refers to redistricting that favors one political party, has a long tradition in the"
"Since the 1990s, provincial elections in Quebec show increasing voter realignment and volatility in party support. Queensland Realigning election A realigning election (often called a critical election, political realignment, or critical realignment) a term from political science and political history describing a dramatic change in the political system. Scholars frequently apply the term to American elections and occasionally to other countries. Usually it means the coming to power for several decades of a new coalition, replacing an old dominant coalition of the other party as in 1896 when the Republican Party (GOP) became dominant, or 1932 when the Democratic Party"
"district to ensure a legislator's reelection or to advantage their party. In states where the legislature (or another body where a partisan majority is possible) is in charge of redistricting, the possibility of gerrymandering (the deliberate manipulation of political boundaries for electoral advantage, usually of incumbents or a specific political party) often makes the process very politically contentious, especially when the majorities of the two houses of the legislature, or the legislature and the governor, are from different parties. Partisan domination of state legislatures and improved technology to design contiguous districts that pack opponents into as few districts as possible"
"each district continues to have an equal number of people. Once set, a voter residing in a specific district may only vote in the Representative election for that district. Many states further use Census data to determine the internal state districts that are used to determine representation in the state government. The process of redistricting has become highly politicized since redistricting is typically done by the political party that holds the majority of state elected officials. Notably, the practice of gerrymandering, redistricting that draws convoluted district boundaries to favor or disadvantage certain socioeconomic groups, has frequently been used to improve"
"Vote your district Vote Your District is a political term often associated with the neo-Conservative movement within the United States' Republican Party, although members of all political affiliations are known to make use of it. The phrase is often presented as a ""bait-and-switch"" debate tactic in which elected officials are encouraged to vote with the will of their constituents often in opposition to their party affiliation. Those using the phrase often use it in an attempt to color legislative discourse on an issue (such as Marriage Equality for same-sex couples) by making it look as if legislators who vote with"
"are also initiatives to end gerrymandering, a process by which state legislatures alter the borders of representative districts to increase the chances of their candidates winning their seats (cracking), and concentrating opponents in specific districts to eliminate their influence in other districts (packing). Some refer to the results of this process as ""the candidates choosing their voters"". Electoral reform Electoral reform is change in electoral systems to improve public desires are expressed in election results. That can include reforms of: In less democratic countries, elections are often demanded by dissidents; therefore the most basic electoral-reform project in such countries is"
"elections, the party of the incumbent president had usually controlled the chamber in the phenomenon known locally as the ""Padrino System"" or patronage politics, with other parties aligning themselves with the president's policies in exchange for pork barrel and future political favors. Usually, a gubernatorial candidate has a slate of candidates for vice governor, board members and representative. He or she, aside from supporting a slate of national politicians, may also have slates in the individual cities or towns for mayors, vice mayors and councilors. These slates are usually under one party, but multi-party alliances are not uncommon. Reapportioning (redistricting)"
"as it may lead to those groups' remaining marginalised in the government as they become confined to a single district. Candidates outside that district no longer need to represent them to win elections. As an example, much of the redistricting conducted in the United States in the early 1990s involved the intentional creation of additional ""majority-minority"" districts where racial minorities such as African Americans were packed into the majority. This ""maximization policy"" drew support by both the Republican Party (who had limited support among African Americans and could concentrate their power elsewhere) and by minority representatives elected as Democrats from"
"to gain favor with specific demographics for the purpose of reaping greater political reward in future elections. It is a form of """"Passing the Buck"""" without facing repercussion for overt manipulation or being seen as proponent of a potentially contentious piece of legislation. Vote your district Vote Your District is a political term often associated with the neo-Conservative movement within the United States' Republican Party, although members of all political affiliations are known to make use of it. The phrase is often presented as a ""bait-and-switch"" debate tactic in which elected officials are encouraged to vote with the will of"
"Robson Rotation Robson Rotation is a method of arranging the names of candidates on ballot papers in single transferable vote elections so as to eliminate any influence of the so-called ""donkey vote"". Ordinarily, every ballot paper in an election is identical, with the candidates' names and their party groups (if any) in the same order. Within the party or group ticket, the order of their candidates' names is decided by the group. The order of the groups on the ballot is usually determined by lot, by the authority running the election. Having all ballot papers the same can give a"
"casting sufficient votes to elect their preferred candidates. An at-large election can dilute the votes cast by minority voters by allowing a cohesive majority group to win every legislative seat in the jurisdiction. Redistricting plans can be gerrymandered to dilute votes cast by minorities by ""packing"" high numbers of minority voters into a small number of districts or ""cracking"" minority groups by placing small numbers of minority voters into a large number of districts. In July 1981 the North Carolina General Assembly enacted a redistricting plan in response to the 1980 United States Census. In September 1981 plaintiffs sued North"
"by allowing a cohesive majority group to win every legislative seat in the jurisdiction. Redistricting plans can be gerrymandered to dilute votes cast by minorities by ""packing"" high numbers of minority voters into a small number of districts or ""cracking"" minority groups by placing small numbers of minority voters into a large number of districts. In ""Thornburg v. Gingles"" (1986), the Supreme Court used the term ""vote dilution through submergence"" to describe claims that a jurisdiction's use of an at-large/multimember election system or gerrymandered redistricting plan diluted minority votes, and it established a legal framework for assessing such claims under"
"redrawn whenever the number of members in a state changes. In many states, state legislatures redraw boundaries for state legislative districts at the same time. State legislatures have used gerrymandering along racial lines both to decrease and increase minority representation in state governments and congressional delegations. In Ohio, a conversation between Republican officials was recorded that demonstrated that redistricting was being done to aid their political candidates. Furthermore, the discussions assessed the race of voters as a factor in redistricting, on the premise that African-Americans tend to back Democratic candidates. Republicans apparently removed approximately 13,000 African-American voters from the district"
"Gerrymandering in the United States Gerrymandering in the United States is the practice of setting boundaries of electoral districts to favor specific political interests within legislative bodies. Partisan gerrymandering to increase the power of a political party has been practiced since the beginning of the United States. After racial minorities were granted the power to vote, some jurisdictions engaged in racial gerrymandering to weaken the political power of minority voters. In some instances, political parties have colluded to protect incumbents by engaging in bipartisan gerrymandering. In the United States, redistricting takes place in each state about every ten years, following"
"compact, contiguous districts, trying to keep political units and communities within a single district, and avoiding the drawing of boundaries for purposes of partisan advantage or incumbent protection. Redistricting may follow other criteria depending on State and local laws: Esri has offered its services as a platform for redestricting to allow for complete government transparency. Since the process of redistricting is intrinsically linked to geography, GIS can address this issue effectively. Gerrymandering, the practice of drawing district boundaries to achieve political advantage for legislators, involves the manipulation of district boundaries to leave out, or include, specific populations in a particular"
"move people into an electoral district, usually through public housing. If people eligible for public housing are likely to vote for a particular party, then they can either be concentrated into one area, thus making their votes count for less, or moved into marginal electorates, where they may tip the balance towards their preferred party. One notable example of this occurred in the City of Westminster in England under Shirley Porter. Immigration law may also be used to manipulate electoral demography. For instance, Malaysia gave citizenship to immigrants from the neighboring Philippines and Indonesia, together with suffrage, in order for"
"subsequent elections, including incumbents among the minority. Mann, a Senior Fellow of Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution, has also noted that ""Redistricting is a deeply political process, with incumbents actively seeking to minimize the risk to themselves (via bipartisan gerrymanders) or to gain additional seats for their party (via partisan gerrymanders)"". The bipartisan gerrymandering that Mann mentions refers to the fact that legislators often also draw distorted legislative districts even when such redistricting does not provide an advantage to their party. Gerrymandering of state legislative districts can effectively guarantee an incumbent's victory by 'shoring up' a district with higher"
"malapportionment acknowledge that political self-interest plays a role in decisions of the legislature. Legislatures and the majority party can pursue self-interest by gerrymandering—contriving legislative districts to promote the election of specific individuals or to concentrate the opposition party's core constituencies in a small number of districts—or by simply declining to reapportion at all, so that the make-up of a legislature fails to track the evolving demographics of the state. Many states now redistrict state electoral districts following each decennial federal census, as ""Reynolds v. Sims"" required for Congressional districts. A state may draw districts that span political subdivisions and elect"
"policy of the party in power in the legislature to secure the largest amount of political advantage in making the apportionments, and they were made whenever the political control of the assembly changed. From 1878 to 1892, the state was reapportioned six times as power oscillated between the two parties. A partisan majority in the legislature has it in their power to so apportion the districts as to enable the minority of the voters in the state to elect a majority of the congressional delegation, or to empower a bare majority of the voters to elect almost the entire delegation,"
"was the last election for the (numerically) 29th district; the United States Census Bureau announced it would be stripping New York of two Congressional seats based on the results of the 2010 United States Census. It could possibly be dissolved, or renumbered with another county from the east (Tioga County) attached to it while another district (almost certain to be upstate, with candidates being the current 20th, 23rd, 24th or one of the Buffalo districts) is broken up. <nowiki>*</nowiki>A district that has a partisan voting index of a party that is represented by the opposite party, and applies to an"
"Boundary delimitation Boundary delimitation (or simply delimitation) is the drawing of boundaries, particularly of electoral precincts, states, counties or other municipalities. In the context of elections, it can be called redistribution and is used to prevent unbalance of population across districts. In the United States, it is called redistricting. Unbalanced or discriminatory delimitation is called ""gerrymandering."" Though there are no internationally agreed processes that guarantee fair delimitation, several organizations, such as the Commonwealth Secretariat, the European Union and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems have proposed guidelines for effective delimitation. In international law, the related national delimitation is the process"
"Party used its control of Congress to secure the admission of more states in territories friendly to their party—the admission of Dakota Territory as two states instead of one being a notable example. By the rules for representation in the Electoral College, each new state carried at least three electoral votes regardless of its population. All redistricting in the United States has been contentious because it has been controlled by political parties vying for power. As a consequence of the decennial census required by the United States Constitution, districts for members of the House of Representatives typically need to be"
"is homogenization of all districts (essentially a form of cracking where the majority party uses its superior numbers to guarantee the minority party never attains a majority in any district). In addition to its use achieving desired electoral results for a particular party, gerrymandering may be used to help or hinder a particular demographic, such as a political, ethnic, racial, linguistic, religious, or class group, such as in U.S. federal voting district boundaries that produce a majority of constituents representative of African-American or other racial minorities, known as ""majority-minority districts"". Gerrymandering can also be used to protect incumbents. Gerrymandering should"
"of an election. The popular or numerical election results within a constituency, precinct, or electoral district can be distorted by the act of gerrymandering. Common alterations to election results caused by gerrymandering are: Malapportionment is unequal and disproportionate representation electoral systems with multiple constituencies. It is a violation of the democratic principle of “one person, one vote” in that constituency boundaries enclose populations of various size, which means that the votes of people in regions of lower population have greater representation per vote than those in regions with a higher population. The effect of malapportionment is observed when equivalent percentages"
"with major-party supporters in nonswing states, in the hope that the third party candidate will get more of the popular vote, while the major-party candidate gets more of the Electoral College vote. Through the 2000 election, the concept was known in the United States as ""vote swapping"", while ""vote pairing"" originally had a somewhat different meaning—where people of opposing parties would agree to together vote for a third-party candidate instead of for their own candidates. For example, a disaffected Democrat and a disaffected Republican both agreeing to vote for a third-party candidate instead of for the candidates of their own"
"Electoral reform in the United States Electoral reform in the United States refers to efforts to change American elections and the electoral system used in the United States. Most elections in the U.S. select one person; elections with multiple candidates selected by proportional representation are relatively rare. Typical examples include the U.S. House of Representatives, whose members are elected by a plurality of votes in single-member districts. The number of representatives from each state is set in proportion to each state's population in the most recent decennial census. District boundaries are usually redrawn after each such census. This process often"
"""citizen"", and ""right of return"" mark various global conflicts, including those in Israel/Palestine, Kashmir, the Congo, and Rwanda. Redrawing of electoral constituency (or ""riding"" or ""district"") borders should be conducted at regular intervals, or by statutory rules and definitions, if for no other reason than to eliminate malapportionment attributable to population movements. Some electoral reforms seek to fix these borders according to some cultural or ecological criterion, e.g., bioregional democracy – which sets borders to fit exactly to ecoregions – to avoid the obvious abuse of ""gerrymandering"" in which constituency borders are set deliberately to favor one party over another,"
"or ""Reihen"" in German, ""latoisage"" in French) the names of some candidates, a system also used in Austria until the 1970s. Panachage Panachage is the name given to a procedure provided for in several open list variants of the party-list proportional representation system which gives voters more than one vote for the same ballot and allows them to distribute their votes between individual candidates from different party lists. It is used in elections at all levels in Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, and Switzerland, in congressional elections in Ecuador, El Salvador, and Honduras, as well as in local elections in a majority of"
"communities. Partisan sorting Partisan sorting or geographic sorting is an effect in politics in which voters with specific viewpoints migrate to specific areas, becoming much more concentrated in them than in the wider electorate. This effect may create or contribute to an effect of polarization, in which separate areas become dominated by political movements much more extreme than might be expected given the ""average"" political views of voters. In 2008, ""The Economist"" commented that in American politics sorting was making ""the culture war more bitter and politics harder."" A 2016 study finds no evidence that partisans move to more politically"