End Partisan Gerrymandering

Voters should choose their politicians. Politicians shouldn’t choose their voters.

What is Gerrymandering?

Gerrymandering is when partisans draw election districts in a way that artificially advantages a politician, party or group over another. Partisan gerrymandering is one of the main reasons our elections aren’t fair and competitive.

Both parties do it, and it’s unacceptable.

Politicians in both parties have, through technically-legal means, gamed the system to their liking. Their goal is to protect incumbents from challengers and decrease the competitiveness of districts. While gerrymandering might be good for politicians, every American voter loses.

One of the most common types is partisan gerrymandering, where district lines are drawn strategically around groups of people that reliably vote for one party. As a result, the party drawing the lines gets more representatives elected than they would with fairly drawn districts.

Independent redistricting commissions

How we end gerrymandering

When partisan politicians and their allies are in charge of the map-drawing process, they’re going to gerrymander. Independent redistricting commissions are proven to draw fairer maps, giving voters more power and leading to more competitive elections.

Independent redistricting commissions should be free of influence from elected officials and other partisan actors. They should be truly nonpartisan, meaning that they include members of several parties and independent voters. Finally, they should have strong and enforceable standards for maps to prevent partisan power grabs and ensure courts can step in when necessary.

Proportional voting methods, including proportional RCV, can also prevent partisan gerrymandering. Since proportional voting methods elect multiple candidates from a particular district, it’s more difficult to gerrymander and dilute voters’ power.

Does your state use independent redistricting commissions to draw maps?

Find out

The Benefits of Independent Redistricting Commissions

Isolated from politicians

Strong standards for election maps

Less polarization

Less extreme legislators

More competitive elections

Better representation

We’re working state by state to end partisan gerrymandering.
Will you join the movement?

FAQs

Is gerrymandering legal?

Despite being deeply un-democratic, gerrymandering is technically legal. The Voting Rights Act did ban racial gerrymandering, but the U.S. Supreme Court has allowed partisan gerrymandering to continue. A few states have banned partisan gerrymandering, but it is still legal in most of the country.
What is partisan gerrymandering?

Partisan gerrymandering is one of the most common types of gerrymandering, where district lines are drawn strategically around groups of people that reliably vote for one political party. As a result, the party drawing the lines gets more representatives elected than they would with fairly drawn districts.
What is racial gerrymandering?

Racial gerrymandering is when bad actors draw election lines that strategically group members of a certain race together in voting districts to dilute or weaken their voting power.
How does gerrymandering actually happen?

The two main ways gerrymandering happens are “cracking” (breaking up similar voting groups into different districts to dilute the power of their vote) and “packing” (crowding similar voting groups into one or two districts to diminish their overall representation and power in government).
What exactly is ‘redistricting’ and why is it important?

Redistricting happens every 10 years following the U.S. Census. It’s the process of redrawing election district maps to reflect changes in population. It has major implications for the number of representatives a state sends to Congress as well as for the balance of power between the parties.
What states have independent redistricting commissions already?

Independent redistricting commissions are used in nine states. RepresentUs has led the way in bringing these commissions to Michigan and Colorado, while improving the process in Virginia, Ohio and Utah. We also helped defeat a partisan gerrymandering amendment in New Jersey.

States with independent redistricting commissions draw fairer maps, according to the Redistricting Report Card we published with the Princeton Gerrymandering Project. On average, states that had some form of commission drew “B+” maps, while states where partisans controlled the process, drew “D+” maps.

Our Anti-Gerrymandering Campaigns

Virginia

Nov 3 2020

In 2020, voters in Virginia approved a measure to stop gerrymandering in the state.

Learn more

New Jersey

Dec 17 2018

In 2018, Represent Central New Jersey and a coalition of partners defeated a Democrat-led effort to push a partisan gerrymandering amendment through the legislature.

Learn more

Utah

Nov 6 2018

In 2018, Utah voters approved an initiative to create an independent commission to create fair state legislative and congressional voting district maps.

Learn more