Gerrymandering

Gerrymandering is the practice of drawing electoral district boundaries in a way that gives one political party an advantage over others. This is often done by either "packing" opponents into a few districts to reduce their overall influence, or "cracking" them across many districts to dilute their votes. The term originated from a map of Massachusetts in 1812, resembling a salamander. Gerrymandering can distort representative democracy, leading to unbalanced political power, as the party in control can manipulate district lines to secure more seats in elections than they might otherwise achieve based on overall voter support.