The Process of Redrawing Political Maps - and Its Potential Dangers

Every 10 years after a new census, states redraw their congressional district boundaries to achieve a close equality of population in each. A political process, this redistricting is subject to efforts to favor one specific political group over another. As explained in the video, the most common way is gerrymandering.

“Gerrymandering is important because it can potentially distort the will of the people from being heard in Congress and other legislatures,” said Kerry Haynie, dean of social sciences and professor of political science and African and African American studies. 

“Our government is predicated on voters choosing their representatives. It’s undermining the Constitution to have gerrymandering as part of the process,” said Haynie.