Gerrymandering is best described as

• A. Increasing turnout by mobilizing voters
• B. Drawing electoral district boundaries to benefit a particular party or group
• C. Regulating campaign finance
• D. Redistricting to improve minority representation

Answer: (B)

Gerrymandering is the deliberate drawing of electoral district boundaries to give one party or group an unfair advantage in elections. This manipulation can involve packing opponents into a few districts or cracking them across many districts to dilute their influence, with the goal of winning more seats than the voters’ overall support would suggest. That focus on shaping boundaries to benefit a particular party or group is what makes this the best description.

Other options describe different ideas. Mobilizing voters to increase turnout is about getting people to vote, not how districts are drawn. Regulating campaign finance deals with money in elections, not the way district lines are laid out. Redistricting to improve minority representation can be legitimate and nonpartisan in purpose, whereas gerrymandering centers on partisan advantage through boundary manipulation.