Hollywood Popular Artists

Apr 9th 2012, 16:19

redistrict, verb: to redivide an area into districts for voting or administrative purposes

Here we see our census data put to use. When a state reviews the number voters in its districts, population shifts may, from time to time, demand that the district boundary shifts, too. The plan is to create more fair and balanced electoral voting pools. Happens all the time.

Sometimes, however, it's scandalous.

In 1812, a fella named Elbridge Gerry, then mayor of the great state of Massachusetts, drew his new voting district boundary on a map. It was, he claimed, just a routine redistricting to account for population change. No biggie. Problem was, the "line" was so shamelessly wiggly, bending and curving over voter-heavy areas, that a political cartoonist joked about how the district was suddenly shaped like a long, squirmy salamander. A Gerry-mander, the paper quipped. Well, the word stuck. And thank goodness. 'Cause it's a totally ridiculous word and we love that.

gerrymander, verb: strategically redrawing district lines so as to establish an advantage for a particular group or political party

Usually, gerrymander is used to describe moves like Mayor Elbridge Gerry's: manipulative, sneaky, unethical. Don't be all cynical, though; the gerrymander can be a benign, amphibious strategy designed to give power to otherwise underrepresented voters -- minorities, for example. And that's your silver lining ...

Read over our glossary of Jargon Busters to impress your friends at political soirées this election season -- and log on to Power of 12 to up your engagement factor.

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