The upside-down elephant. The snake. The seahorse. The octopus. The praying mantis. Visualize what each of those might look like. Now drop those animal shapes on a map of the United States. You’ll have a handful of actual voting districts, artificially engineered to ensure that a political party’s candidate-of-choice never faces serious opposition. It’s called “gerrymandering,” and it’s been around almost as long as the United States itself. In 2010, technology and big data boosted the effects of gerrymandering. How have citizens and courts responded?
“Slay the Dragon” is a new documentary about gerrymandering. It highlights the story of Katie Fahey, an activist who led a grassroots effort against partisan gerrymandering in Michigan three years ago.