States are divided into congressional districts with roughly equal populations, each of which elects one representative to the U.S. House of Representatives. Congressional districts are redrawn every 10 years in a process called redistricting to account for shifts in population within states. The most recent redistricting was put into effect in 2022 using 2020 Census data.
Gerrymandering is the practice of manipulating district boundaries during the redistricting process to favor one party over another. It can undermine fair representation and voter influence and often causes minorities (whether political or racial) to be underrepresented.
The most common gerrymandering strategies are "packing" and "cracking." For these examples, suppose that party X is gerrymandering to reduce the number of representatives from party Y in a state.
Maryland's old congressional district map, in effect from 2012 through the 2020 elections, was widely criticized for gerrymandering in favor of Democrats. Maryland's current map, in effect since the 2022 midterm elections, has been redrawn to reduce gerrymandering, making some districts more competitive.
Maryland's congressional district map from 2012 until 2022. Maryland's 3rd district, snaking from north of Baltimore to eastern Montgomery County to Annapolis, was considered among the most gerrymandered in the country.
The United States Electoral College is the body that directly elects the U.S. president. It consists of 538 electors, with each state having a number of electors equal to its number of senators (2) plus its number of House representatives. For instance, California has 54 electors, the most of any state; Maryland has 10. The District of Columbia has three electors.
When voters participate in the general election in November, they are actually voting to determine how their state's electors will vote. All states except Maine and Nebraska follow a winner-takes-all system, where the candidate who wins the popular vote in the state receives all of its electoral votes. A candidate needs a majority of electoral votes--at least 270--to win the presidency.
% who favor...
Survey of U.S. adults conducted Jan. 16-21, 2024.
Source: “Substantial ideological differences within both parties on some election policies.” Pew Research Center, Washington, D.C. (February 6, 2024) https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2024/02/07/bipartisan-support-for-early-in-person-voting-voter-id-election-day-national-holiday/pp_2024-02-07_voting_00-6-png/.
% who say that when it comes to political campaigns...
Note: No answer responses are not shown.
Source: “About 7 in 10 U.S. adults say there should be limits on election spending.” Pew Research Center, Washington, D.C. (October 20, 2023) https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/10/23/7-facts-about-americans-views-of-money-in-politics/sr_23-10-23_money-politics_1-png/.
Share of members of Congress who used the following terms on Facebook or Twitter, Jan. 6 - 10
Note: Figures do not include six lawmakers who did not post during the period. Variants of each term are consolidated into one measure, e.g., "terrorism" also includes terms like "terrorist" and "terrorize."
Source: “Lawmakers of each party used distinct language on social media in days following Jan. 6 rioting at U.S. Capitol.” Pew Research Center, Washington, D.C. (January 15, 2021) https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/01/15/how-lawmakers-social-media-activity-changed-in-the-days-after-the-u-s-capitol-riot/ft_2021-01-15_socialmediacongress_01-png/.
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