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Does Gerrymandering Violate the Fourteenth Amendment? Insight from the Median Voter Theorem

Author

Listed:
  • Craig McLaren

    (Department of Economics, University of California Riverside)

Abstract

This paper argues that “gerrymandering†understood here to mean the intentional redrawing of legislative district boundaries to benefit a given party, robs opposition voters of implicit bargaining power.. Using the Median Voter Theorem and statistical examples, this paper argues that the presence of minority voters in a legislative district influences the majority party’s choice of candidate, whenever minority voters are present in sufficient number to pose a credible challenge. When, through gerrymandering, lawmakers insure that minority voters cannot mount such a challenge, they deny such voters equal protection under the law.

Suggested Citation

  • Craig McLaren, 2017. "Does Gerrymandering Violate the Fourteenth Amendment? Insight from the Median Voter Theorem," Working Papers 201706, University of California at Riverside, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucr:wpaper:201706
    Note: This paper is written in a pedagogical style to facilitate its use in classroom discussion.
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    File URL: https://economics.ucr.edu/repec/ucr/wpaper/201706.pdf
    File Function: First version, 2017
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Election; Election Law; Voter Protection; Voting; Voting Law; Gill vs. Whitford; gerrymandering; median voter theorem;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • K16 - Law and Economics - - Basic Areas of Law - - - Election Law

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