There’s near consensus among voters that the practice of partisan gerrymandering is a problem in the U.S., results of a new Rasmussen poll reveal.
On Wednesday, Rasmussen released the findings of a national survey of U.S. likely voters showing that 88% consider partisan gerrymandering to be a problem - including about two-thirds (65%) who say it’s a “very serious” problem.
The issue of partisan gerrymandering has commanded national media attention in recent months as several states have vied to alter the party distribution of their representatives in the U.S. House of Representatives. In one high-profile case, Virginia Democrats have been attempting to redraw the state’s congressional map to increase their advantage from 6-5 to 10-1 seats in the U.S. House.
Conducted April 22, 23 and 26 – after Virginia voters approved a gerrymandering referendum, but before the Virginia Supreme Court ruled the gerrymandering effort to be unconstitutional, the survey asked:
“How serious of a problem is it when states deliberately draw congressional districts to favor one party?”
Only two percent called gerrymandering “not at all serious,” while another five percent dismissed it as being “not very serious.”
The results were consistent across race, gender, income – and even party-affiliation groups.
Democrats, Republicans and “Other” voters agree on both the prevalence and severity of the problem of states deliberately drawing congressional districts to favor one party – but, they don’t agree on who’s doing it the most.
Among Democrat voters, about half (47%) say the Republican Party is more likely to engage in partisan gerrymandering and a quarter (27%) say their own party is more prone to do so. Likewise, with Republican voters, about half (52%) think the Democrat Party is more likely to engage in partisan gerrymandering and a quarter (25%) say their own party does it more.
As a result, among all voters, virtually the same percentage say the Democrat Party is more likely to gerrymander (35%) as think the Republican Party (34%) is more likely, while another 25% say both parties are equally likely. Another six percent say they’re “not sure.”
