Gerrymandering

Gerrymandering (originally [ ɡɛrimændərɪŋ ], but common today [ ˌ dʒɛri mændərɪŋ ] or gerrymander, a term of political science ) is the deliberate, the vocal profit serving manipulation of the boundaries of constituencies in a majoritarian system. The term is named after Elbridge Gerry, a governor of Massachusetts in the early 19th century and later U.S. vice president, whose constituency for a clean slate - like a contemporary newspaper cartoonist noticed - a salamander possible. Hence the name Gerry salamander. Although Gerry's name was pronounced with a hard G, is for the word gerrymandering pronunciation as in the word "jungle" usual.

The manipulation can therefore be managed on the constituency geometry and not the constituency size. A pure proportional representation excludes gerrymandering.

Strategies

When Gerrymandering several strategies can be distinguished:

• Dilution: Constituency blank, so that the opposition can not win the constituency and expire the voices of opposition.
• Stronghold Education: Summarize as many voters of the opposition in a " throw-away" constituency, so lots of surplus, no longer needed for the electoral success of voices apply and then missing the opposition in other constituencies.
• Aufeinanderhetzung: This is possible if only residents of this constituency is also selectable. A constituency is formed such that two currently active opposition members of residing therein. One of them needs to move or run in the next election against the other or give up his seat.
• One hand washes the other: Both parliamentary groups share in common the constituencies so on that current seat holders are likely to be reelected, while opposition candidates have little chance. Strenuous election campaigns and difficult to be kept campaign promises are thus avoided, also have to take hardly any consideration for the swing voters of the political center, MEPs and can therefore be better placed to party line.

Occurrence

In the U.S.

The gerrymandering is now regularly performed in the United States of America by computer and data mining, leaving only about 1 /15 of the seats are really fought regularly in the House of Representatives. The rest have become more or less to Gewohnheitsbesitztum the two parties. In the Senate, where the electoral districts correspond to all states and gerrymandering is therefore impossible to close results and exciting election campaigns, however, are much more common. However, the boundaries of the individual states are partly due to gerrymandering in the conversion of territories in states in the 19th century. In the case of Vieth v. Jubelirer ruled 2004 the Supreme Court of the United States that gerrymandering is allowed as long as it is political and not practiced as racist reasons.

Usually constituencies be re- divided into the states every ten years shortly after the census. After the Republicans conquered in the state Legislature in 2002 in Texas between the censuses of the majority, they replaced 2003, made ​​in favor of the Democratic constituency boundaries for election of the House of Representatives by a change in favor of the Republicans. As of the 2002 election, the Republicans had achieved 59% and the Democrats 40 % of the vote for the House of Representatives, however, the Democrats received 17 (53%) and Republicans only 15 (47%) representatives. After redistricting, the Republicans were given at the 2004 election with 58 % of votes 21 representatives (66%) and the Democrats with 41% of votes 11 representatives ( 34%). The redistricting attracted great attention because of some MEPs tried to prevent it by fleeing to neighboring states, thus preventing the occurrence of the force in Texas quorum of 2/3 of the deputies. At times, the Department of Homeland Security was searching in vain for these deputies. After several special sessions, Republicans were finally able to enforce the plan. Then the new constituency boundaries was attacked in court. The Supreme Court of the United States decided in 2006 finally that the redistricting between censuses were essentially lawful, a constituency must also be redefined, because the local majority of Latinos had been repealed without due cause, which prohibited racial discrimination constituted.

More occurrences

Controversial practices of gerrymandering are also:

• In France ( absolute majority vote )
• In the UK
• In Northern Ireland ( for decades in favor of unionists )
• In Belgium ( disputes between Flemish and Walloons with respect to the division of the electoral district of Brussels-Halle -Vilvoorde )
• Vienna - The constituency Central West ( combining the former " bourgeois districts " preferred the SPÖ)
• In almost all countries with a majority vote.

On the other hand, allegations came loudly wahlrecht.de ( see Related links ) on even the clean slate of the parliamentary constituencies in Berlin, where western and eastern districts were linked together so that the chances of the PDS were minimized to direct mandates it, what also could speak the outcome of the 2002 elections. In the 2005 federal election there was not this effect.

Although not contiguous with the majoritarian electoral gerrymandering was also performed in Austria, as the provinces of Vienna and Lower Austria were created from the province of Lower Austria. This allowed the SDAP (predecessor party the Social Democratic Party ) and the CS building (predecessor party of the People's Party ) is a political stronghold.