Since the earliest days of the Republic, state legislatures have drawn boundaries for state and congressional legislative districts in order to advantage a particular political party. Always controversial, gerrymandering in the last decade has sparked lawsuits and widespread citizen action to establish alternative procedures.

In this course, we examine the history of gerrymandering, the potential harms it poses for democratic accountability, and the various alternatives that reformers have proposed. In week one, we examine the concept of representation and how gerrymandering potentially harms citizens’ interests. In week two, we evaluate key decisions in the state and federal courts that have affected redistricting practices since the Supreme Court’s famous “one-man-one-vote” decision in 1962. In week three, we turn to remedies, ranging from non-partisan commissions, to litigation under state constitutional protections, to alternative forms of voting.