The gerrymander attempt that backfired

Both parties in the US have at times gerrymandered their electoral maps to favour themselves, as boundaries have to be redrawn every 10 years after a census.

Last year the GOP, pressed by Trump, did a gerrymander in Texas, adding four likely seats to the GOP, to try and protect them in the mid terms. There was no requirement to do new boundaries. They just did it because they could.

But the Democrats learned that you fight fire with fire. Rather than be idiots and just complain about it, they said well if you do it, we will also.

Texas, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio did new maps that moved nine seats to the GOP. But California, Utah and Virginia have moved 10 seats to the Democrats, which is a net loss of one for the GOP.

I’m very grateful in New Zealand the Representation Commission sets the boundaries, not MPs. While there are two political appointments on the Representation Commission, the majority are neutral officials. It is chaired by a former judge and members are the Surveyor-General, the Government Statistician and the Chief Electoral Officer.

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