Which of the following is the best definition of gerrymander?

Answer 1

A gerrymander is an oddly shaped district design to increase the voting strength of a particular party. The name comes from salamander-shaped districts drawn up the influence of one Elbridge Gerry , a governor of Massachusetts. As a verb it means to draw up gerrymander districts.

Gerrymandering tends to occur after each census which changes the number of Congressional districts in a state. States also need to change their own legislative distrcts from to time to time due to shifts in population and the new districts may be gerrymandered to help the party in power. The idea is to study past voting records and create as many districts as possible with a slight but solid majority for the controling party. It may be necessary to have some "lost" districts to which as many opposing voters as possible are placed.

Answer 2

Technically, the election is not gerrymandered. The electoral district is manipulated to give a party or candidate the strong likelihood of being elected, From the name of a governor of Massachusetts Elbridge Gerry (pronounced with a hard "g") who signed a law making new districts into very weird shapes to insure the election to the senate of then Jeffersonian democrats. See the Wikipedia entry "gerrymander."

Answer 3

Gerrymander is a term used in politics in election zones. The best definition would be that a gerrymander is the dividing of voting districts in a way that gives a certain party an advantage, unfairly.

Answer 4

Gerrymander is not a person but refers to a political act. This process uses district boundaries to create a political advantage for a particular party.

Answer 5

Gerrymandering is changing the boundaries of an electoral district (or dividing it into multiple districts) for a political party to better their chances of winning an election.

Answer 6

To manipulate the boundaries of an electoral constituency so as to favor one party or class.

Answer 7

To redraw voting district boundaries specifically to aid a political party in an election.

Answer 8

Gerrymander means the drawing of the boundaries of a political district in a way which is designed to include certain types of people and exclude others from voting in that district.