The word comes from a former US politician (5th US Vice President) named "Elbridge Gerry" who drew oddly shaped districts that supposedly looked like salamanders in order to make sure that particular districts had a Democratic-Republican majority. The words "Gerry" and "salamander" were merged to create "gerrymander".
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Around 1812 when Massachussetts Governor Elbridge Gerry oversaw redistricting of State Senate districts in Massachussetts, which resulted in the districts being changed in favour of the Democratic-Republican party.
Balls
The process of drawing congressional district lines to favor a political party is called gerrymandering. The word comes from the combination of the name Gerry and the word salamander. Gerry was the governor of Massachusetts in 1812 when the congressional districts in his state were redrawn to favor his Democratic-Republican Party. One of the words was said to resemble a salamander.
Gerrymandering is not illegal in this country. Although it definitely has bad ethical and immoral implications, it is still being used in the United States. Gerrymandering deliberately attempts to disenfranchise certain voters and favor one particular political party over the other.
political districts to benefit a party
political districts to benefit a party