Curator note: The Republican Party has been successful in capturing political control of the country using a variety of tactics. One of the most successful tactic has been to gerrymander and redistrict — draw district lines so Republicans control a greater number of districts while Democrats control fewer districts but with more voters.

GERRYMANDER DEFINITION

1. manipulate the boundaries of (an electoral constituency) so as to favor one party or class.

   • achieve (a result) by manipulating the boundaries of an electoral constituency.

     “a total freedom to gerrymander the results they want”

Eric Holder to Lead Democrats’ Attack on Republican Gerrymandering

WASHINGTON — As he prepared last week to deliver his farewell address, President Obama convened three Democratic leaders in the White House for a strategy session on the future of their party. The quiet huddle included Senator Chuck Schumer of New York and Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the top Democrats in Congress, and Gov. Terry McAuliffe of Virginia.

One topic of urgent concern, according to people briefed on the meeting: how to break the Republican Party’s iron grip on the congressional map.

Thwarted for much of his term by a confrontational Republican Congress, and criticized by his fellow Democrats for not devoting sufficient attention to their down-ballot candidates, Mr. Obama has decided to make the byzantine process of legislative redistricting a central political priority in his first years after the presidency.

Emerging as Mr. Obama’s chief collaborator and proxy is Eric H. Holder Jr., the former attorney general of the United States and a personal friend of the president. He has signed on to lead the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, a newly formed political group aimed at untangling the creatively drawn districts that have helped cement the Republican Party in power in Washington and many state capitals.

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Redistricting and Reapportionment — News about Redistricting and Reapportionment, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Curator note: Below is a link to the NYT series or articles on this topic. Reading these articles about the tactics used in individual states provides an excellent lesson in how government works.

Follow NYT series Redistricting and Reapportionment