Gerrymandering Tilts Political Power. Here’s How Redistricting Affects Democracy.

October 18, 2021
Has lesson plan
Updated

Both parties play the redistricting game, redrawing electoral boundaries to lock down power.

Every decade, states engage in redistricting – the redrawing of congressional and state legislative boundaries – after the release of new census data. This process often becomes politicized, with district lines drawn to create partisan advantages and disadvantages, a tactic known as gerrymandering. The practice is almost as old as the nation. The term has been around for more than 200 years, ever since Gov. Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts approved a redistricting scheme that included a state senate district resembling, some thought, a salamander. Both parties have always played the redistricting game, sometimes with unforeseen consequences. What’s at stake right now: control of the House of Representatives.

Check out our teaching resources for this video and watch our webinar. Co-hosted by Retro Report, New American History, and GeoCivics, this webinar features brand new classroom resources for teaching about Redistricting and Gerrymandering in 6th-12th grade classrooms, along with resources for the College/University level.

Related: Gerrymandering Has Led to Odd Political Alliances by Clyde Haberman

Previous versions
At Retro Report, we update our journalism as news unfolds. Here are the previous published versions of this story.
For teachers
  • Read transcript
  • Producer: Andrew Kolker
  • Producer: Louis Alvarez
  • Editor: Brian Kamerzel
  • Associate Producer: Sandra McDaniel
  • Update Producer: Sandra McDaniel
  • Update Editor: Heru Muharrar
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For Educators

Subjects
Civics & Government Geography U.S. History
Topics
1980s Elections Politics Supreme Court U.S. Presidents Voting Rights
Introduction

Every decade, after each United States census, states engage in redistricting, the redrawing of congressional and state legislative boundaries. This process often becomes politicized, with district lines drawn to create partisan advantages and disadvantages, a tactic known as gerrymandering. The census count has numerous effects, and one of the most important is its impact on our representative democracy. With the 2022 midterm elections on the horizon, what’s at stake now is control of the House of Representatives.

This 11-minute video and accompanying lesson plans explore the ways reapportionment and redistricting affect how and by whom the people are represented. Students will examine interactive resources to explore how changing district lines can affect the balance of partisan power, and evaluate criteria for drawing district lines. They will experiment with interactive maps to see both historic and contemporary changes to the balance of power among states, and discover who has power within those states to redraw the lines. These activities ask students to examine primary sources, pose questions for investigation and gather additional narratives.

Background reading
▼

It’s a dark art of politics.

Officially, the term gerrymandering describes a process whereby states can redraw their congressional and legislative districts every 10 years, after each new census.

Predictably, the party in power – Democrat or Republican – seeks to draw those districts to favor its candidates.

But today’s battles over gerrymandering have become particularly partisan, thanks to a 1986 Supreme Court decision. In that unanimous ruling, the Court ruled that North Carolina’s redistricting plan had violated the 1982 Voting Rights Act by reducing black voting power.

The court said minority groups should have the opportunity to elect their preferred candidates to Congress.

To achieve this goal, states began redrawing their voting maps to favor districts where minority residents of voting age represented more than 50 percent of the population.

That gave minority groups their candidates – but it often left the remaining districts short of Democrats, and in Republican hands. The GOP eventually gained control of most states below the Mason-Dixon line. And that helped Republicans take back both houses of Congress in 1994 for the first time in 40 years.

As the battles over gerrymandering continue today, so does its legacy. Candidates in gerrymandered-districts tend to be more liberal if Democrat, or more conservative if Republican. And those divisions just feed political polarization.

Lesson Plan 1: Redistricting
Redistricting
Redistricting
Shaw v. Reno SCOTUS FRQ
Pear Deck: Gerrymandering Tilts Political Power – Lesson 1
Teaching About Gerrymandering & Redistricting Education
Midterm Elections
U.S. Supreme Court
Overview
▼

Students will learn the causes and effects of gerrymandering, and how court decisions authorizing race-based gerrymandering have reshaped American politics and created complex legacies.

Objectives
▼
Lesson Plan: Reapportionment and Redistricting

Students will:

  • Examine the role of the census in the reapportionment process.
  • Analyze historic and contemporary maps to determine how the balance of power in Congress has shifted geographically over time.
  • Determine the requirements for redistricting and compare how the process and requirements differ by state.
  • Construct new Congressional maps and hypothesize how different criteria in map drawing may lead to different electoral outcomes.
Lesson Plan: Gerrymandering

Students will:

  • Analyze historic and contemporary maps to determine how the balance of power in Congress has shifted over time.
  • Define gerrymandering and explain how it is used.
  • Analyze the intended and unintended consequences of creating Majority-Minority districts.
  • Prioritize and justify the use of redistricting criteria.
Essential questions
▼
Lesson Plan: Reapportionment and Redistricting
  • What role do reapportionment and redistricting play in the electoral process?
  • How have apportioned seats in the House of Representatives changed over time in different regions of the United States?
  • How do states engage in the redistricting process and what criteria do they use to create new Congressional districts?
  • How do the criteria for drawing Congressional districts impact the balance of power in Congress?
Lesson: Gerrymandering
  • Which criteria should matter most when drawing district lines?
  • How has the partisan balance of House seats shifted over time?
  • How have redistricting and gerrymandering contributed to that shift?
  • How does race intersect with and affect redistricting?
  • What are some consequences of gerrymandering?
Additional resources
▼
Standards
▼
  • Common Core State Standards
    • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.1:Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, attending to such features as the date and origin of the information.
    • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.5:Analyze how a text uses structure to emphasize key points or advance an explanation or analysis.
    • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.7:Integrate quantitative or technical analysis (e.g., charts, research data) with qualitative analysis in print or digital text.
  • National Council for the Social Studies C3 Framework
    • D1.2.9-12. Explain points of agreement and disagreement experts have about interpretations and applications of disciplinary concepts and ideas associated with a compelling question.
    • D1.4.9-12.Explain how supporting questions contribute to an inquiry and how, through engaging source work, new compelling and supporting questions emerge.
    • D2.Civ.3.9-12.Analyze the impact of constitutions, laws, treaties, and interna-tional agreements on the maintenance of national and international order.
    • D2.Civ.4.9-12.Explain how the U.S. Constitution establishes a system of government that has powers, responsibilities, and limits that have changed over time and that are still contested.
    • D2.Civ.8.9-12.Evaluate social and political systems in different contexts, times, and places, that promote civic virtues and enact democratic principles.
    • D2.Civ.13.9-12.Evaluate public policies in terms of intended and unintended outcomes, and related consequences.
    • D2.Geo.2.9-12.Use maps, satellite images, photographs, and other representations to explain relationships between the locations of places and regions and their political, cultural, and economic dynamics.
    • D2.Geo.5.9-12. Evaluate how political and economic decisions have influenced cultural and environmental characteristics of various places and regions.
    • D2.Geo.8.9-12.Evaluate the impact of economic activities and political decisions on spatial patterns within and among urban, suburban, and rural regions.
    • D2.His.1.9-12.Evaluate how historical events and developments were shaped by unique circumstances of time and place as well as broader historical contexts.
    • D2.His.2.9-12.Analyze change and continuity in historical eras.
    • D2.His.5.9-12.Analyze how historical contexts shaped and continue to shape people’s perspectives.
    • D2.His.12.9-12.Use questions generated about multiple historical sources to pursue further inquiry and investigate additional sources.
  • AP Government and Politics
    • Unit 2: Interactions Among Branches
    • Disciplinary Practice 2.a.Describe the facts, reasoning, decisions, and majority opinion of required Supreme Court cases.
    • Disciplinary Practice 2.d.Explain how required Supreme Court cases apply to scenarios in context.
    • Disciplinary Practice 3.c.Explain patterns and trends in data to draw conclusions.
    • Disciplinary Practice 3.d.Explain what the data imply or illustrate about political principles, institutions, processes, policies, and behaviors.
    • Reasoning Process 2:Explain how the steps or stages in a process relate to each other.
    • Reasoning Process 4:Explain the relevance, implications, and/or significance of similarities and differences.
    • Unit 2: CON-3.C:

      Explain how congressional behavior is influenced by election processes, partisanship, and divided government.

      CON-3.C.1: Congressional behavior and governing effectiveness

    • Unit 5: PMI-5.c:Explain why and how political parties change and adapt.
Lesson Plan 2: Gerrymandering
Gerrymandering
Gerrymandering
Gerrymandering – Concept Application FRQ
Pear Deck: Gerrymandering Tilts Political Power – Lesson 2
Teaching About Gerrymandering & Redistricting Education
Midterm Elections
U.S. Supreme Court
Overview
▼

Every decade, after each United States census, states engage in redistricting, the redrawing of congressional and state legislative boundaries. This process often becomes politicized, with district lines drawn to create partisan advantages and disadvantages – a tactic known as gerrymandering. What’s at stake now: control of the House of Representatives. Which criteria should matter most when drawing district lines?  What are the electoral consequences when politicians draw lines based on political or racial demographics?  Examine interactive resources to explore how changing district lines can affect the balance of partisan power, and evaluate criteria for drawing district lines.

Objectives
▼

Students will:

  • Analyze historic and contemporary maps to determine how the balance of power in Congress has shifted over time.
  • Define gerrymandering and explain how it is used.
  • Analyze the intended and unintended consequences of creating Majority-Minority districts. 
  • Prioritize and justify the use of redistricting criteria.
Essential questions
▼
  • Which criteria should matter most when drawing district lines?
    • How has the partisan balance of House seats shifted over time? How have redistricting and gerrymandering contributed to that shift?
    • How does race intersect with and affect redistricting?
    • What are some consequences of gerrymandering?
Additional resources
▼
    • Graphic Organizer for students to analyze the interactive tools listed above.
  • Optional: An interactive tool for students to participate in a whole-class discussion about redistricting criteria.  Recommendations include:
Standards
▼

Common Core Standards:

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.1: Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, attending to such features as the date and origin of the information.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.5: Analyze how a text uses structure to emphasize key points or advance an explanation or analysis.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.7: Integrate quantitative or technical analysis (e.g., charts, research data) with qualitative analysis in print or digital text.

C-3 Framework Standards for Social Studies:

  • D1.4.9-12. Explain how supporting questions contribute to an inquiry and how, through engaging source work, new compelling and supporting questions emerge.
  • D2.Civ.3.9-12. Analyze the impact of constitutions, laws, treaties, and international agreements on the maintenance of national and international order. 
  • D2.Civ.4.9-12. Explain how the U.S. Constitution establishes a system of government that has powers, responsibilities, and limits that have changed over time and that are still contested.
  • D2.Civ.5.9-12. Evaluate citizens’ and institutions’ effectiveness in addressing social and political problems at the local, state, tribal, national, and/or international level.
  • D2.Civ.8.9-12. Evaluate social and political systems in different contexts, times, and places, that promote civic virtues and enact democratic principles. 
  • D2.Civ.13.9-12. Evaluate public policies in terms of intended and unintended outcomes, and related consequences. 
  • D2.Geo.2.9-12. Use maps, satellite images, photographs, and other representations to explain relationships between the locations of places and regions and their political, cultural, and economic dynamics.
  • D2.Geo.5.9-12.  Evaluate how political  and  economic decisions  throughout  time have  influenced  cultural  and environmental  characteristics of various places and regions. 
  • D2.Geo.8.9-12. Evaluate the impact of economic activities and political decisions on spatial patterns within and among urban, suburban, and rural regions.
  • D2.His.1.9-12. Evaluate how historical events and developments were shaped by unique circumstances of time and place as well as broader historical contexts.
  • D2.His.5.9-12. Analyze how historical contexts shaped and continue to shape people’s perspectives.
  • D2.His.12.9-12. Use questions generated about multiple historical sources to pursue further inquiry and investigate additional sources.

AP U.S. Government and Politics Course Framework:

  • Disciplinary Practice 2.a. Describe the facts, reasoning, decisions, and majority opinion of required Supreme Court cases.
  • Disciplinary Practice 2.d. Explain how required Supreme Court cases apply to scenarios in context.
  • Disciplinary Practice 3.c. Explain patterns and trends in data to draw conclusions.
  • Disciplinary Practice 3.d. Explain what the data imply or illustrate about political principles, institutions, processes, policies, and behaviors.
  • Reasoning Process 2: Explain how the steps or stages in a process relate to each other.
  • Reasoning Process 4: Explain the relevance, implications, and/or significance of similarities and differences.
  • Unit 2: CON-3.C: Explain how congressional behavior is influenced by election processes, partisanship, and divided government.
    • CON-3.C.1: Congressional behavior and governing effectiveness are influenced by:
      • Gerrymandering, redistricting, and unequal representation of constituencies have been partially addressed by such Court decisions as Baker v. Carr (1961), which opened the door to equal protection challenges to redistricting and stated the “one person, one vote” doctrine, and the no-racial-gerrymandering decision in Shaw v. Reno (1993)
  • Unit 5: PMI-5.c: Explain why and how political parties change and adapt.