In this thread, I will document the Top 10 worst examples of gerrymandering created by state legislatures and assemblies. These are districts represented by a congressman or congresswoman in the U.S. House of Representatives. They are drawn to heavily favor a political party or voting bloc and usually defy the logic of geographic features in keeping with its adherence to political features. The practice is routinely criticized since favoring one group of people means another group of people (and their voting rights) are disenfranchised.
Let us begin.
― pplains, Sunday, 12 October 2014 20:44 (ten years ago) link
10. NY-13http://i.imgur.com/Fz3ChfZ.png
This one's pretty obvious. Rep. Charles Rangel has represented this African-American majority district since 1970. So guess what, it's also the smallest district in the country. Figures.
9. FL-26http://i.imgur.com/KMi9UBV.png
Florida is notorious for its ridiculous voting formats and strangely-shaped districts, but FL-26 takes the cake. See how the district snakes its way south, at some points being no wider than the highway it contains, all with the motivation of hooking the population of the Florida Keys with the mainland. The very definition of gerrymandering.
8. MD-6http://i.imgur.com/IgE7490.png
The same thing that happens in FL-26 is going on here as well in MD-6. Look at how the district does everything it can to avoid Berkeley Springs (probably a liberal outpost based on its name), squeezing itself into just a one-mile corridor, all the while keeping the cities of Cumberland and Hagerstown in the same place.
― pplains, Sunday, 12 October 2014 20:45 (ten years ago) link
7. WY-00http://i.imgur.com/3xMwtIV.png
Really? Not only does Wyoming lose a lot of points here for lack of creativity, but with District #00, they don't even have a real district. That's at least 10 thousand voters disenfranchised right there.
6. MA-9http://i.imgur.com/LjniUND.png
Liberal Massachusetts up to no good again. Look at how in practically ensnares the area south of Hyannis, giving only one way in and out. Even the Bay of Cape Cod gets to reside nestled warmly in the 9th.
5. OK-1http://i.imgur.com/dOeVgTx.png
Hey, look everyone. Oklahoma's got a district gerrymandered to look like an upside-down tomahawk. The governor's daughter in a Native American's headdress was one thing, but this "1" is definitely not "OK"!
― pplains, Sunday, 12 October 2014 20:46 (ten years ago) link
4. TX-16http://i.imgur.com/SKROM3J.png
Texas hates this historically Democratic district so much, it not only placed it at the very end of the state, hundreds of miles away from all of the other districts, but it also gave it to Ciudad Juarez– a city that's not even in the United States!
― pplains, Sunday, 12 October 2014 20:47 (ten years ago) link
3. HI-1, HI-2http://i.imgur.com/idMXQ7L.png
What is this, Hispaniola?
2. OH-13http://i.imgur.com/o39vPTQ.png
Not sure how this one made the list. I mean, would you want Upper Arlington in your district? Didn't think so.
1. ???http://i.imgur.com/heBDLXF.png
Who represents this place, Rep. Henry Matise? Nice how some parts are in districts while others are, you guessed it, disenfranchised. And on top of all that, it is hell trying to figure out what the local time is.