What term describes the practice of redrawing legislative districts to benefit the party in power?

Prepare for your Honors Voting and Elections Exam. Study with practice questions and detailed explanations. Ace your test!

Multiple Choice

What term describes the practice of redrawing legislative districts to benefit the party in power?

Explanation:
Redrawing legislative districts to benefit the party in power is called gerrymandering. This tactic involves shaping district boundaries so that the ruling party can maximize its number of seats, often by packing opposition voters into a few districts with very high margins or cracking them across many districts to dilute their influence. The idea is to tilt representation in favor of the party in control, which undermines the principle of equal representation. Other terms describe different phenomena: a gag order restricts what can be said about a case in court, a filibuster is a delaying tactic used to block legislation, and ballot fatigue refers to voters skipping some items on a long ballot.

Redrawing legislative districts to benefit the party in power is called gerrymandering. This tactic involves shaping district boundaries so that the ruling party can maximize its number of seats, often by packing opposition voters into a few districts with very high margins or cracking them across many districts to dilute their influence. The idea is to tilt representation in favor of the party in control, which undermines the principle of equal representation. Other terms describe different phenomena: a gag order restricts what can be said about a case in court, a filibuster is a delaying tactic used to block legislation, and ballot fatigue refers to voters skipping some items on a long ballot.

Subscribe

Get the latest from Passetra

You can unsubscribe at any time. Read our privacy policy