The Fight Against Gerrymandering

For thirty years, partisan gerrymandering law has been trapped in limbo. A big reason why is that courts have not been able to measure the extent of gerrymandering—to distinguish highly skewed plans from the ordinary rough-and-tumble of politics. In this talk, I will present a quantitative gerrymandering metric, the “efficiency gap,” that I developed a few years ago. I will also discuss the two lawsuits based on the efficiency gap in which I have served as co-counsel. These two suits—one against Wisconsin’s state house plan, the other against North Carolina’s congressional map—have produced the only victories for plaintiffs since the cause of action was recognized. Both cases are now before the Supreme Court, and how they are resolved could shape the future of American democracy.

Chicago’s Best Ideas, a lecture series begun in honor of the University of Chicago Law School’s Centennial, highlights the intellectual innovations of the school’s distinguished faculty. The lecture is free and open to the public. For further information, please contact Candace Bergeron at cbergeron@uchicago.edu.