What Is Cracking In Gerrymandering
Melvin Amey
What is cracking in gerrymandering and how does it affect elections?
Gerrymandering is the practice of drawing electoral district boundaries in a way that favors one political party or group over another. It can be used to manipulate the outcome of elections by diluting or concentrating the voting power of certain groups of voters.
One of the techniques used in gerrymandering is called cracking. Cracking involves splitting a large concentration of voters who support a certain party or candidate into several districts, where they become a minority and have less influence. For example, if a city has a large population of Democratic voters, a gerrymanderer could crack it into several districts that also include rural areas with more Republican voters, making it harder for the Democrats to win any seats.
Cracking can have significant effects on the representation and participation of voters. It can reduce the number of competitive districts, where both parties have a chance to win, and create more safe seats, where one party has a dominant advantage. This can make elections less responsive to the preferences of the voters and more predictable for the incumbents. It can also discourage voters from turning out to vote, as they may feel that their vote does not matter or that their voice is not heard.
Cracking is one of the challenges that face the U.S. electoral system, as it can undermine the principle of "one person, one vote" and the fairness of democracy. There are various ways to combat cracking and other forms of gerrymandering, such as using independent commissions, mathematical criteria, public input, or judicial review to draw district boundaries. However, these solutions are not always easy to implement or agree on, and they may have their own trade-offs and limitations.
One of the examples of cracking in gerrymandering is the case of Texas in 2003. The Republican-controlled state legislature redrew the congressional district map, breaking up several districts that had elected Democratic representatives. As a result, the Republicans gained six more seats in the U.S. House of Representatives in the 2004 election, while the Democrats lost five. The redistricting plan was challenged in court, but it was ultimately upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2006.
Another example of cracking in gerrymandering is the case of Maryland in 2011. The Democratic-controlled state legislature redrew the congressional district map, splitting a large Republican stronghold in the western part of the state into three districts that also included more Democratic-leaning areas. As a result, the Democrats gained one more seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in the 2012 election, while the Republicans lost one. The redistricting plan was also challenged in court, but it was also upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2018.
Cracking in gerrymandering is not only a problem in the U.S., but also in other countries that use single-member district systems, where each district elects one representative. For instance, cracking has been used to manipulate electoral outcomes in countries such as Canada, Australia, India, and Malaysia. Cracking can affect not only national elections, but also state or local elections, where district boundaries are often drawn by partisan authorities.
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