Entrenched incumbents resist redistricting even as the same tools oppress others
Evidence
Another time-honored technique for tilting the electoral playing field is manipulating the number, size, and boundaries of electoral districts—the infamous gerrymander. Before the Supreme Court required equipopulosity of legislative districts, legislators elected from malapportioned districts resisted any change in district boundaries, just as constituents in overrepresented districts resisted reapportionment schemes that would reduce their representation. Along with at-large and multimember districting schemes, gerrymandering was a key line-drawing tool used by white majorities, incumbent legislators, and the Democratic Party in the South to suppress black voting power and preserve political hegemony. Partisan gerrymanders remain a staple of contemporary politics, permitting parties to leverage temporary or slight legislative majorities into enduring or decisive control without the trouble of attracting more votes. — Daryl Levinson and Benjamin I. Sachs, Political Entrenchment and Public Law, 89
Categorization
- XREF: connects to: Gerrymandered legislative majorities can nullify the results of elections they lose — Nikole Hannah-Jones et al., The 1619 Project: A New American Origin…, 656; Northern officials achieved segregation through surface-neutral tools like attendance-zone gerrymandering — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 3018; Gerrymandering converts transient majorities into durable control without added votes — Daryl Levinson and Benjamin I. Sachs, Political Entrenchment and Public Law, 89 (+3 more)
Broader Connections
- Northern officials achieved segregation through surface-neutral tools like attendance-zone gerrymandering
#exemplifies(0.85) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 3018 - Gerrymandered legislative majorities can nullify the results of elections they lose
#expands(0.82) — Nikole Hannah-Jones et al., The 1619 Project, 656 - Gerrymandering converts transient majorities into durable control without added votes
#expands(0.80) — Daryl Levinson and Benjamin I. Sachs, Political Entrenchment and Public Law, 89 - County-wide voting rules diluted black electoral power before redistricting
#exemplifies(0.78) — Dorothy A. Brown, Getting to Reparations, 42 - Scholars treat legislative, electoral, and constitutional entrenchment as unrelated despite functional similarities
#corroborates(0.75) — Daryl Levinson and Benjamin I. Sachs, Political Entrenchment and Public Law, 34 - District commissioners created electoral obstacles for candidates not aligned with the government.
#exemplifies(0.72) — Abdi Ismail Samatar, Africa’s First Democrats, 1013