what does gerrymandeer mean?

Question

what is the origin of the word

Answer 1

Gerrymander means to so convolute a voting district as to insure reelection.

it comes from Massachusetts Governor Elbridge Gerry who redrew boundaries in such a way that one district in Essex Country had a particularly contorted shape.

When a critic said the district looked like a salamander, and said, "It looks like a Gerrymander" and the name stuck.

Answer 2

Gerrymandeering is a process where one political party takes control and they change the political boundaries of a district to make sure that their party will always have a majority in that district; even if this means drawing some strange boundary lines.

The word itself came from the Governor of Massachusetts Elbridge Gerry (July 17, 1744 – November 23, 1814), and is a blend (or portmanteau) of his name with the word "salamander," because the boundaries he drew snaked around.

According to Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerrymandering
"Gerrymandering is a form of redistricting in which electoral district or constituency boundaries are manipulated for an electoral advantage. The word "gerrymander" is named for the Governor of Massachusetts Elbridge Gerry (July 17, 1744 – November 23, 1814), and is a blend (or portmanteau) of his name with the word "salamander," which was used to describe the appearance of a tortuous electoral district pressed through the Massachusetts legislature in 1812--and reluctantly signed into law by Gerry--by Jeffersonian democrats, in order to disadvantage their electoral opponents in the upcoming senatorial election. "Gerrymander" is used both as a verb meaning "to divide into political units to give special advantages to one group" as well as a noun describing the resulting electoral geography. Elbridge Gerry's actual name is pronounced with an initial /g/ (a hard G), but the "jerry" pronunciation is now the normal pronunciation.

Gerrymandering may be used to advantage or disadvantage particular constituents, such as members of a racial, linguistic, religious or class group, often in the favor of ruling incumbents or a specific political party. Although all electoral systems that use multiple districts as a basis for determining representation are susceptible to gerrymandering to various degrees, governments using single winner voting systems are the most vulnerable. Most notably, gerrymandering is particularly effective in nonproportional systems that tend towards fewer parties, such as first past the post."

Answer 3

Gerrymandering is a form of redistricting in which electoral district or constituency boundaries are manipulated for an electoral advantage. The word "gerrymander" is named for the Governor of Massachusetts Elbridge Gerry (July 17, 1744 – November 23, 1814), and is a blend (or portmanteau) of his name with the word "salamander," which was used to describe the appearance of a tortuous electoral district pressed through the Massachusetts legislature in 1812--and reluctantly signed into law by Gerry--by Jeffersonian democrats, in order to disadvantage their electoral opponents in the upcoming senatorial election. "Gerrymander" is used both as a verb meaning "to divide into political units to give special advantages to one group" as well as a noun describing the resulting electoral geography. Elbridge Gerry's actual name is pronounced with an initial /g/ (a hard G), but the "jerry" pronunciation is now the normal pronunciation.

BTW - It took me all of 50 milliseconds to Google this. Why couldn't you?

Answer 4

Taken from the Concise Oxford English Dictionary:

gerrymander /"dZErI%mand@/ (Brit. also jerrymander)
· v. [often as noun gerrymandering] manipulate the boundaries of (an electoral constituency) so as to favour one party or class.
– DERIVATIVES gerrymanderer n.
– ORIGIN C19: from the name of Governor Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts + salamander, from the supposed similarity between a salamander and the shape of a new voting district created when he was in office, which was felt to favour his party.

Answer 5

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