In gerrymandering, which term describes concentrating as many opposition voters as possible into a single or a few districts?

• A. Splitting and redrawing.
• B. Packing and cracking.
• C. Merging and dividing.
• D. Proportional adjustment and census manipulation.

Answer: (B)

This item tests your understanding of how gerrymandering uses district lines to shape outcomes by concentrating or dispersing voters. Packing describes concentrating as many opposition voters as possible into a single or a few districts. By piling opposition into a few districts, those areas produce wins for the opposition, but only in a limited number of districts, while the remaining districts are drawn to favor the ruling party, boosting its overall seat count. In contrast, cracking would spread opposition voters across many districts so they cannot form a majority anywhere. The other terms don’t describe this specific concentrating tactic.