How does gerrymandering work?
In: Other
Let’s say there are 100 voters in a given region, of which 60 voters like Dogs and 40 voters like Cats.
You want to split the region into five districts.
Proportionally, there should be three Dog districts and two Cat districts.
But you can also draw district boundaries like this:
1. 19 Dog, 1 Cat.
2. 17 Dog, 3 Cat.
3. 8 Dog, 12 Cat.
4. 9 Dog, 11 Cat.
5. 7 Dog, 13 Cat.
Now the Cats have the majority (three seats to two), despite having a minority in votes.
Gerrymandering works because of the “wasted vote” effect, where all of those extra Dog votes in District 1 and 2 don’t give the Dogs any more seats.
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