How gerrymandering works, in one graphic

gerrymandering photo — (Image credit: Washingtonpost.com/Wonkblog)

Via The Washington Post and Reddit comes a handy little graphic that succinctly visualizes how gerrymandering — when political districts are unfairly mapped to manipulate elections — can have such a significant impact:

Of course, in real life, gerrymandered districts often look far more convoluted than the simplified ones in option three. For a look at some of the most ridiculous districts in the country — "crimes against geography" — click here.

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Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.