gerrymander

[ jer-i-man-der, ger- ]

noun

1. U.S. Politics. the dividing of a state, county, etc., into election districts so as to give one political party a majority in many districts while concentrating the voting strength of the other party into as few districts as possible.

verb (used with object)

1. U.S. Politics. to subject (a state, county, etc.) to a gerrymander.

gerrymander

/ ˈdʒɛrɪˌmændə /

verb

1. to divide the constituencies of (a voting area) so as to give one party an unfair advantage
2. to manipulate or adapt to one's advantage

noun

1. an act or result of gerrymandering

gerrymander

1. To change the boundaries of legislative districts to favor one party over another. Typically, the dominant party in a state legislature (which is responsible for drawing the boundaries of congressional districts) will try to concentrate the opposing party's strength in as few districts as possible, while giving itself likely majorities in as many districts as possible.

Derived Forms

• ˌgerryˈmandering, noun

Other Words From

• gerry·mander·er noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of gerrymander¹

1812, Americanism; after E. Gerry (governor of Massachusetts, whose party redistricted the state in 1812) + (sala)mander, from the fancied resemblance of the map of Essex County, Mass., to this animal, after the redistricting

Word History and Origins

Origin of gerrymander¹

C19: from Elbridge Gerry, US politician + ( sala ) mander ; from the salamander-like outline of an electoral district reshaped (1812) for political purposes while Gerry was governor of Massachusetts

Example Sentences

Fellow Conservative peer and former cabinet minister Lord Forsyth of Drumlean accused Labour of "a disgraceful piece of political gerrymandering" aimed at "weakening the scrutiny" of the government.

From BBC

Independent redistricting commissions increase public participation, reduce gerrymandering and draw districts that represent communities, not individual politicians’ interests.

From Los Angeles Times

Winning control of those bodies gave the GOP the power to draw more district lines and allowed the party to enact partisan gerrymanders in states like Texas and Utah.

From Salon

Bill Yeomans, a former Justice Department prosecutor and counsel to the former Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., told Salon that the court has “been quite vigorous in applying that doctrine in racial gerrymandering cases, for example.”

From Salon

At the same time, her campaign said the audio leak scandal showed that De León was “conspiring to gerrymander districts to dilute Black voting power.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• contrive
• engineer
• finesse
• manipulate