Why
Gerrymandering Happens:

Gerrymandering occurs as a strategic manipulation of electoral district boundaries, driven by political motives such as securing partisan advantage, protecting incumbents, and influencing election outcomes, often resulting in disproportionate representation and challenges to democratic principles.

How
Gerrymandering Happens:

Redistricting Process:

Gerrymandering takes place during the redistricting process, which occurs after the release of census data every ten years. The next census is in 2030. During redistricting, states are required to adjust their electoral district boundaries to account for changes in population.

Control of Redistricting:

The political party in power at the state level usually has a significant influence on the redistricting process. This party controls the drawing of district lines, allowing it to shape the political landscape in its favor.

Manipulation of Boundaries:

Gerrymandering involves manipulating the shapes of electoral districts to achieve specific political objectives. This camn include creating districts that concentrate voters of a particular party, known as “packing”, or dispersing opposing voters across multiple districts, known as “cracking”

Technology and Data Analysis:

Advances in mapping technology and data analysis have enabled sophisticated gerrymandering. Parties can use computer algorithms to analyze voter demographics, voting histories, and other data to draw district lines that maximize their electoral advantage.

Effects of Gerrymandering

Safe Districts:

The goal of gerrymandering is often to create "safe" districts, where the dominance of one party is almost guaranteed. In these districts, the likelihood of the opposing party winning is minimized.

Competitive Districts:

Alternatively, gerrymandering may aim to create competitive districts for one party while concentrating the opposition's supporters in fewer districts. This strategy can lead to overall disproportionate representation.

Racial Gerrymandering:

In some cases, gerrymandering involves considerations of race. This can include manipulating district boundaries to dilute the voting power of minority communities or concentrating minority voters in specific districts.

Types of Gerrymandering

Packing: This involves concentrating voters of a particular political affiliation into a small number of districts. By doing so, the party in power can ensure they win those districts overwhelmingly, but at the cost of "wasting" some of their votes (since only a simple majority is needed to win a district).

Cracking: This strategy involves spreading out voters of a particular political affiliation across multiple districts. This makes it difficult for them to form a majority in any single district, reducing their overall representation.