Matthew Reiss
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Elbridge Gerry was a respected politician in the late 1700s and early 1800s. He signed the Declaration of Independence, served as governor of Massachusetts (1810-1811), and was elected vice president under James Madison. While governor, he tried to change the shape of voting districts to help members of his political party get elected. His system resulted in some very oddly shaped districts, including one (Gerry’s home district) that looked a little like a newt. Upon seeing a map of the bizarre regional divisions, a member of the opposing party drew feet, wings, and a head on Gerry’s district and said “That will do for a salamander!” Another member called out “Gerrymander!” Thus gerrymander became a term for such political schemes.
Examples of gerrymander in a Sentence
Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff, Washington Post, 28 Mar. 2024
Republican leaders have condemned all the plans as Democratic gerrymanders that could disrupt four to eight GOP districts and change the election districts of hundreds of thousands of residents.
—Marilyn W. Thompson, ProPublica, 28 Feb. 2024
These maps are widely regarded as gerrymanders and have locked in lopsided Republican majorities even in years when Democrats are winning at the top of the ticket.
—Craig Gilbert, Journal Sentinel, 29 Jan. 2024
The legislation limits a project’s ability to gerrymander maps, and sets aside funds to monitor for wrongdoing.
—Sheelah Kolhatkar, The New Yorker, 29 Jan. 2024
Of course, even that only speaks to the strength of the existing gerrymander.
—Matt Ford, The New Republic, 26 Oct. 2023
This thin majority is crucial, given that the court’s conservative majority had pushed the state right on a number of key issues and cemented an absurd, pro-Republican gerrymander.
—Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling, The New Republic, 13 Oct. 2023
Democrats, activated by the Dobbs decision and a gerrymander that had left Republicans with a dominant position in the state Legislature, ponied up with big money.
—Andy Kroll, ProPublica, 11 Oct. 2023
But on Wednesday, the question was whether South Carolina’s new map — which moved Black voters from one congressional district to another — was a permissible gerrymander to bolster the Republican majority or an unconstitutional attempt to sort voters by race.
—Robert Barnes, Washington Post, 11 Oct. 2023
Melissa Quinn, CBS News, 28 Mar. 2024
The redistricting commission is pursuing an appeal of the panel's decision striking down the first set of state House districts drawn by the commission as racially gerrymandered to the U.S. Supreme Court.
—Detroit Free Press, 27 Mar. 2024
Consultants hired by the court last week said that maps submitted by the Republican Legislature and a conservative law firm were gerrymandered.
—Scott Bauer, Twin Cities, 13 Feb. 2024
Key Background Typically, Congressional maps are drawn every decade based on the census results, but an appeals court ruled the last congressional map drawn was overly partisan and gerrymandered against Republicans.
—Molly Bohannon, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024
In a place where 90-plus percent of members hold safe and often gerrymandered seats, where 90-year-old Sen. Charles Grassley is in his eighth term, something tells us that’s just not happening.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 4 Jan. 2024
Over the same period, the foundation’s advocacy and lobbying arm, the Berger Action Fund, has given more than $343 million to liberal groups, among them ones fighting Republican efforts to gerrymander electoral districts and funding Democratic super PACs.
—Emily Birnbaum, Fortune, 25 Jan. 2024
Days before a scheduled trial, Miami will attempt to settle a federal lawsuit accusing the city of adopting an unconstitutional, racially gerrymandered voting map in 2022.
—Joey Flechas, Miami Herald, 25 Jan. 2024
Over Democratic objections, voters — encouraged by Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger — ended the Legislature’s sordid practice of gerrymandering legislative and congressional districts for partisan advantage.
—George Skelton, Los Angeles Times, 15 Jan. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'gerrymander.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Gerrymander.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gerrymander. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
gerrymander
1 of 2 noun
ˈjer-ē-ˌman-dər
gerrymander
2 of 2 verbNoun
from Elbridge Gerry, former governor of Massachusetts, and salamander; so called from the shape of an election district formed during Gerry's term in office
Legal Definition
gerrymander
1 of 2 noun
gerrymander
2 of 2 transitive verbNoun
Elbridge Gerry (1744–1814) + salamander; from the shape of an election district formed during Gerry's governorship of Massachusetts
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