This article discusses gerrymandering and how it operates politically across our nation. The reporter who was conducting research established that many citizens do not even know what gerrymandering means, nor what it does. “Gerrymandering is the term for the way politicians draw boundary lines for legislative districts in a way designed to keep one party or the other in power in that particular district”, according to this article. So politicians are able to use gerrymandering strategically to secure their seat in congress. The research done in the article states that “in the last 10 years, 78% of the seats in the U.S. House of Representatives — almost four out of every five members of Congress — did not change party hands even once”. With this research alone, it is almost clear that something unfair is going on when members of Congress are elected. It seems as if no one’s vote really matters when electing Congress members because the whole thing is rigged prior to anyone’s vote. This article is a reflection of reporters of objective fact. The reporter’s role is to state the facts that they find and then report the truth to our citizens. Now people can be truly aware of what gerrymandering is, and how it is used in our politics.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/18/politics/gerrymandering/index.html
I have always had trouble understanding the concept of gerrymandering , especially given the fact it seems to be a recent phenomenon, or at least that hasn’t had much discussion lately.