Internal Boundaries
Introduced| English | Meaning |
|---|---|
| electoral districts/ɪˈlektərəl ˈdɪstrɪkts/ | Geographic areas whose voters elect one or more representatives under a specified electoral system. |
| redistricting/ˌriːˈdɪstrɪktɪŋ/ | Redrawing electoral district boundaries, often to respond to population changes or legal requirements. |
| gerrymandering/ˈdʒerɪmændərɪŋ/ | The *unfair* version done for party advantage. |
Borders inside a state
- States draw internal boundaries to organise regions and voting.
- Electoral districts 选区 decide which voters elect which representative.
- How the lines are drawn can change who wins.
The areas that decide which voters elect which representative are electoral ____.
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Electoral districts are internal boundaries for voting.
Redistricting
- Redistricting 重新划分选区 redraws electoral districts, usually after a census.
- It should keep districts roughly equal in population.
- But the party in power can redraw lines to help itself.
Gerrymandering 选区划分不公: the same voters, three ways to draw five districts
Fair redistricting or gerrymandering?
Sort each action as fair redistricting or unfair gerrymandering.
Redistricting after a census is always a form of gerrymandering.
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Redistricting is normal; only unfair redrawing for party gain is gerrymandering.
Gerrymandering
- Gerrymandering redraws districts unfairly to favour one group.
- Packing crowds opponents into few districts; cracking splits them across many.
- Both waste the other side's votes.
Redrawing electoral districts unfairly to favour one party is called...
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Gerrymandering is the unfair version of redistricting.
Select all gerrymandering tactics.
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Packing, cracking, and bizarre shapes are gerrymandering; equal compact districts are fair.
Match each term to its meaning.
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Packing = crowd together; cracking = split apart; redistricting = normal redraw.
Redrawing districts is normal after a census; gerrymandering is the unfair version done for party advantage. The difference is intent and fairness, not the act of redrawing itself. Watch for oddly shaped districts as a red flag.
A party in power redraws a map so that its opponents are all packed into two districts while its own voters form thin majorities in eight — a textbook gerrymander. The opponents may win more total votes yet fewer seats.
Internal boundaries include electoral districts. Redistricting redraws them (normal after a census); gerrymandering redraws them unfairly by packing and cracking to waste opponents' votes and win extra seats.
Write from a packed district
- Mapmakers draw one district that holds most of one party's voters.
- The surrounding districts then favour the other party.
What gerrymandering tactic is the crowded district?
Packing wastes a group's votes inside one district.
What tactic piles one party's voters into one district?
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Concentration into one seat is packing.