Gerrymandering
![Printed in March 1812, this political cartoon was drawn in reaction to the newly drawn state senate election district of South Essex created by the Massachusetts legislature to favor the Democratic-Republican Party candidates of Governor Elbridge Gerry over the Federalists. The caricature satirizes the bizarre shape of a district in Essex County, Massachusetts, as a dragon-like](/Images/godic/202502/01/The_Gerry-Mander_Edit4026.png")
![This satirical map reflects the origin of the word](/Images/godic/202502/01/Elkanah_Tisdale,_The_Gerry-Mander_Map,_1813_Cornell_CUL_PJM_1034_014027.jpg")
4027.gif")
![](/Images/godic/202502/01/California's_23rd_congressional_district4027.png")
In the process of setting electoral districts, gerrymandering is a practice intended to establish a political advantage for a particular party or group by manipulating district boundaries. The resulting district is known as a gerrymander (/ˈdʒɛriˌmændər/); however, that word can also refer to the process. The term gerrymandering has negative connotations.