To Beat Gerrymandering, Do the Math
Number crunchers can prove that election districts were engineered for partisan advantage, and can help craft fairer alternatives.
Making redistricting great again.
Photographer: Drew Angerer/Getty ImagesGerrymandering is one of those topics that makes U.S. Supreme Court justices squirm. The problem is that the Constitution gives elected lawmakers the power to draw the lines around legislative districts, and it’s hard for judges to determine when politicians have abused their rightful authority. Just last year, the justices sidestepped cases that asked them to decide whether district maps engineered for partisan advantage clashed with constitutionally protected rights.
Now, however, the court is considering challenges to district maps in North Carolina and Maryland. They’re looking for a practical standard for courts to use to decide how much partisanship is too much.