Gerrymandering: The Best Solution at Our Disposal

Partisan redistricting effectively distorts election outcomes across the country and must be resolved to establish a true baseline for the American political landscape. Unfortunately, the unconstitutionality of partisan intent has been difficult to prove at the federal level and in many key states. Even once proven, protections against gerrymandering are difficult to enforce, as the people typically charged with that task are the same legislators approving the maps to begin with. After a review of relevant cases and protections at the federal level, this study compares states with and without independent redistricting commissions to assess their ability to protect against partisan intent in the redistricting process.