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The first rigorous, big-data investigation of partisan restricting at the state level.
List of contents
1. Redistricting wars in the U.S. States; 2. What happened in 2011? The other 'great gerrymander'; 3. When politicians draw the maps; 4. How political geography affects bias; 5. Racial geography, the voting rights act, and bias; 6. The policy and social consequences of state legislative gerrymandering; 7. The democratic harms of gerrymandering; 8. When the courts redistrict; 9. How to design effective anti-gerrymandering reforms; Conclusion; References; Index.
About the author
Alex Keena is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Virginia Commonwealth University.Michael Latner is Professor of Political Science at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and Senior Fellow at the Union of Concerned Scientists' Center for Science and Democracy in Washington, DC.Anthony J. McGann is Professor of Government and Public Policy at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow.Charles Anthony Smith is Professor in Political Science and Law at the University of California, Irvine.
Summary
Drawing on sweeping data, this book sheds light on patterns and determinants of partisan gerrymandering at the state level and demonstrates the close alignment between race and redistricting. The authors find that gerrymandering has profound effects on voting rights and public health policy and offer best practices for reform.
Additional text
'The authors' previous book, Gerrymandering in America, was a comprehensive look at congressional redistricting in terms of the legal rules, the political machinations, and the partisan consequences. Gerrymandering the States is even more ambitious because it tells the story of the past decade of redistricting at the state legislative level. With the Supreme Court's abdication in Rucho of any federal role in preventing partisan gerrymandering, and the large number of states under trifecta (one-party) control where partisanship can be given free rein, the next round of redistricting should see the most egregious partisan gerrymandering ever. The battle for America's political future will be fought in state legislatures and state courts and this book gives its readers the necessary knowledge to understand that struggle.' Bernard Grofman, University of California, Irvine
