Gerrymandering converts transient majorities into durable control without added votes
Evidence
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. Alternatively, legislators who manage to overcome their partisan differences and cooperate across party lines have the opportunity to agree on districting schemes designed to preserve the safety of their seats—so-called “bipartisan” or “incumbent” gerrymanders. — Daryl Levinson and Benjamin I. Sachs, Political Entrenchment and Public Law, 89
Categorization
- XREF: Relevant to reader’s entrenchment puzzle: partisan and bipartisan gerrymanders reveal how entrenchment can become self-reinforcing regardless of which party benefits. — connects to: Electoral rules have long served partisan entrenchment across American history — Daryl Levinson and Benjamin I. Sachs, Political Entrenchment and Public Law, 83; 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 (+2 more)
Broader Connections
- Aggressive gerrymandering gives North Carolina Republicans supermajority power in a purple state
#exemplifies(0.93) — Katherine Stewart, The Power Worshippers, 78 - Gerrymandered legislative majorities can nullify the results of elections they lose
#expands(0.88) — Nikole Hannah-Jones et al., The 1619 Project, 656 - Northern officials achieved segregation through surface-neutral tools like attendance-zone gerrymandering
#exemplifies(0.85) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 3018