Gerrymandering in America
The House of Representatives, the Supreme Court, and the Future of Popular Sovereignty

This book provides a standard to gauge partisan gerrymandering, which increased after the Supreme Court ruled it a non-justiciable issue.

Anthony J. McGann (Author), Charles Anthony Smith (Author), Michael Latner (Author), Alex Keena (Author)

9781107143258, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 4 April 2016

268 pages, 25 b/w illus. 3 maps 25 tables
23.8 x 15.2 x 2.1 cm, 0.5 kg

'… this is an excellent book. The authors do a tremendous job covering the legal background and political implications of gerrymandering and explaining the data analysis required for the book. … I highly recommend this book to students and scholars of representation and redistricting.' Thomas L. Brunell, Congress and the Presidency

This book considers the political and constitutional consequences of Vieth v. Jubelirer (2004), where the Supreme Court held that partisan gerrymandering challenges could no longer be adjudicated by the courts. Through a rigorous scientific analysis of US House district maps, the authors argue that partisan bias increased dramatically in the 2010 redistricting round after the Vieth decision, both at the national and state level. From a constitutional perspective, unrestrained partisan gerrymandering poses a critical threat to a central pillar of American democracy, popular sovereignty. State legislatures now effectively determine the political composition of the US House. The book answers the Court's challenge to find a new standard for gerrymandering that is both constitutionally grounded and legally manageable. It argues that the scientifically rigorous partisan symmetry measure is an appropriate legal standard for partisan gerrymandering, as it logically implies the constitutional right to individual equality and can be practically applied.

1. The unnoticed revolution
2. The jurisprudence of districting
3. Measuring partisan bias
4. Geographic explanations for partisan bias
5. Political explanations of partisan bias
6. The constitutional implications of Vieth
7. Answering Justice Scalia's challenge to equality: does equal protection imply majority rule?
8. Conclusion: Vieth, majority rule, and one person, one vote.

Subject Areas: Constitution: government & the state [JPHC]