The Easiest Way to Rig an Election

“In the vast majority of U.S. states, the political branches of government retain the responsibility for drawing the lines, giving rise to the means, the motive, and the opportunity for electoral shenanigans.” – One Person, One Vote

In 2025, a new round of redistricting began in several states, aiming to increase the number of Congressional seats before the 2026 election.  From Texas to Ohio, to California, and Indiana, state legislators and citizens were tasked with redrawing lines to boost their party’s prospects.  With Democrats clustered in urban areas, and republicans primarily dispersed in suburban and rural areas, the growing need to rig an election for a particular outcome has become increasingly easier. 

Gerrymandering, a portmanteau that blends the name of Eldridge Gerry, Governor of Massachusetts, and salamander, the shape of a district that Gerry approved in 1812.  Its name stuck.   Since then, to draw district lines for the benefit of one party over another is the easiest means by which to seize power without the consent of the people.

While the Constitution does not expressly prohibit gerrymandering, it does offer some guidance.  Districts must be drawn up to ensure equal representation, with apportionment based on population.  Three SCOTUS rulings in the 1960s known as the Reapportionment Revolution, include the 1962 court case, Baker v. Carr, which made redistricting subject to the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, while Wesberry v. Sanders, and Reynolds v. Sims, both in 1964, would require Congressional and State districts to have roughly equal populations to ensure that every citizen’s vote carried the same weight. 

In Nick Seabrook’s 2022 book, “One Person, One Vote”, Seabrook tells the history of gerrymandering, beginning in the years before the American Revolution up to modern times.  Since then, both sides have used this manipulation technique to redraw district borders to secure elections.   

One Person, One Vote ensures that legislatures have representation based on districts with relatively equal populations, that is, an equal voice.  Since the Constitution was enacted, population inequality was a naturally occurring phenomenon as people expanded westward and eventually congregated in cities, resulting in the dilution of voices in heavily populated centers.  Redistricting every decade following the census is now constitutionally mandated to keep population differences in check, but also made gerrymandering a constant temptation.    

Traditional district drawings sought proportional populations based on compactness, regular-shaped regions, with the intent to protect existing borders and preserve community continuity.  Starting with counties as the basis for drawing both state and federal districts, planners easily kept districts in compliance with these customary practices. 

Now, however, modern gerrymandering depends not just on past data, but also on forecasts of the future, using computerized algorithms to simulate future election results.  The term “cracking” occurs when a particular voting bloc (whether minorities or political parties) is spread across multiple districts to dilute their influence.  “Packing”, another gerrymandering term, concentrates specific demographics in a single electoral district to minimize their influence in other districts.  Extreme gerrymandering can be found in many states, with the worst identified in MD, MA, PA, FL, and UT, with districts that are meandering with irregular borders that benefit one party over the other to ensure that their opposition has little chance to win an election. 

The result of gerrymandering is to make districts less competitive and incumbents harder to unseat.  Its effect is to make voters less necessary at election time, and politicians less accountable to their constituents.  It also makes democracy less important by skirting the will of the people.  Now, mid-decade redistricting is becoming more ubiquitous, as pressure to win off mid-term elections becomes more important. 

Currently, there are 34 states that use the state legislators of the majority party to determine boundaries, which makes gerrymandering not only easier but also impossible to dispose of.  Fourteen states have adopted the more preferable option of nonpartisan commissions to make unbiased decisions, with 2 additional states having a hybrid plan. 

Ballot boxes are no longer necessary to rig an election.  Whoever draws the maps now rules the country.