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, rigged elections 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.
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.
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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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).
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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.
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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.
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.
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.
Michigan
Nov 6 2018
In 2018, Michigan voters approved Proposition 2 and put an end to gerrymandered districts in Michigan.
Colorado
Nov 6 2018
In early 2018, a bipartisan coalition rallied behind two anti-gerrymandering initiatives to form an independent commission to oversee map drawing.
Get Involved
If you are interested in fighting against gerrymandering and for independent redistricting commissions, now is the time to get involved.
Anti-Gerrymandering News & Commentary
5 Ways Moore v. Harper Threatens Your Freedom To Vote
Jan 26 2023
Politicians and special interests have taken their anti-voter agenda all the way to the Supreme Court.
Read More
Why Partisan Gerrymandering Helps Explain The Speaker Vote Fiasco
Jan 13 2023
Until we fix the structural problems with our democracy, this kind of dysfunction will likely continue.
Read More
Democrats, Republicans fight to a redistricting stalemate
Jun 3 2022
“Partisan balance is one thing, but it’s much more important to think about how gridlock and extremism is driven by the fact that the only competition is in primaries,” said Joshua Graham Lynn, founder of the group RepresentUS, which pushes for changes in redistricting.
Read More