Midterms 2026Answers · Midterms
What is gerrymandering, in simple terms?
Gerrymandering is drawing the lines of an election district to help one party or group win more seats. Instead of lines that follow natural communities, the map is shaped to pack some voters together or split them apart. Both major parties have been accused of it.
Where the word comes from
In 1812, Massachusetts Governor Elbridge Gerry signed a map with a district so oddly shaped that a newspaper cartoon compared it to a salamander. "Gerry" plus "salamander" became "gerrymander." The tactic is older than the word, and it's still around.
Why district lines matter
In the House, each state is divided into districts, and each district elects one member. Who is in which district decides who wins it. If you can choose which voters go where, you can shape the result before anyone votes.
Maps are redrawn after each census, which happens every 10 years, because populations move. Who draws them depends on the state. In some places it's the legislature, in others a commission.
The two main tricks
Mapmakers use two basic moves:
- Packing. Put as many of the other side's voters as possible into a few districts, so they win those by huge margins and waste votes
- Cracking. Split the other side's voters across many districts, so they're a minority in each
The result can be a party winning more seats than its share of the votes would suggest. It's one reason a House majority and the overall vote don't always line up.
What the courts say
In 2019, in Rucho v. Common Cause, the Supreme Court ruled that federal courts can't decide partisan gerrymandering claims. Racial gerrymandering, meaning drawing lines to dilute the power of voters of a particular race, can still be challenged under federal law. Some state courts and state laws also set limits, so the rules differ by state.
Independent or bipartisan commissions are one proposed fix. Supporters say they reduce the conflict of interest in letting politicians draw their own maps, and critics raise concerns about who picks the commissioners.
The practice is a tool that either side can use if it controls the pen, and what's contested is how much of it is acceptable. I'm not going to tell you what the right limit is.
A way to see the effect
In my free iPhone game Midterms 2026, the map is fixed, so you don't have to fight over lines. But the "House if the vote was today" projection does show how many seats a given vote share can win. It's a quick way to see that seats and votes aren't the same thing. The parties and characters are fictional.