What is Gerrymandering?

Gerrymandering is a term that describes the deliberate rearrangement of the boundaries of congressional districts to influence the outcome of elections. The original gerrymander was created in 1812 by Massachusetts governor Elbridge Gerry, who crafted a district for political purposes that looked like a salamander.

The purpose of gerrymandering is to either concentrate opposition votes into a few districts to gain more seats for the majority in surrounding districts (called packing), or to diffuse minority strength across many districts (called dilution).


The process for drawing legislative district boundaries in Ohio allows the party with control of reapportionment, be it Republicans or Democrats, to draw those lines in ways that protect its incumbent officeholders and advance its own interests. Ohio’s method of redistricting leads to uncompetitive legislative elections and greater polarization in state government.



How do political parties manipulate districts or gerrymander? Whichever party controls the Ohio Reapportionment Board or the Ohio General Assembly, seeks to maximize the number of seats it can win. It does this by creating a large number of seats that are reasonably safe for the majority party and a smaller number of districts extremely safe for the minority party. The process results in most Ohio legislative districts being solidly held by one party and uncompetitive in the general election. This means that many voters do not have a meaningful choice at the polls. For example, a Republican who lives in a solidly Democratic district may vote for Republicans at every opportunity, but his solidly Democratic neighbors will outweigh his vote in each election. In addition, the ultimate distribution of seats in the state legislature may not reflect the overall popular vote totals in legislative elections.

“It wasn’t fun drawing the districts and moving them through the courts, but it was all worth it when the results of the 1972 election were counted.  We won the majority in the House 58-41, an increase of 13 seats for the Democrats.  That’s the power of the pencil.”  Vern Riffe, former Speaker of the Ohio House, Whatever’s Fair: The Political Autobiography of the Ohio House Speaker Vern Riffe.