One Person, One Vote by Nick Seabrook

ONE PERSON, ONE VOTE by Nick Seabrook is a recent addition to the many texts on voting rights and restrictions. Here, Seabrook, a professor in the department of political science and public administration at the University of North Florida, describes “A Surprising History of Gerrymandering in America.” He begins with a quote from Thomas Hofeller, a Republican strategist, which says: “Redistricting is like an election in reverse! Usually the voters get to pick the politicians. In redistricting, the politicians get to pick the voters!”  Seabrook briefly touches on “rotten boroughs” in thirteenth century England and then shares chilling tales involving the vindictive rule of George Burrington during the 1730s in North Carolina. He moves forward in time to the 1830s, when a salamander-shaped district drawn in Massachusetts was proposed to help elect Governor Elbridge Gerry’s Democratic-Republican Party. The nickname "Gerrymander" was coined and has been used since, especially in describing Democratic efforts in California in the 1980s and more recently Republican efforts in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina. 

Seabrook eventually circles back to Hofeller, detailing his involvement as a “key figure” in the REDMAP project which “utilize[d] sophisticated computer software … and highly granular data on the voting population, to manipulate district boundaries with a level of precision and microtargeting never before seen in American history.” Late last year, The New York Times also described district boundary changes in Illinois (resulting in Adam Kinzinger deciding not to run for re-election) and in Texas. Often, it is judicial review and the more recent events which are of greatest interest to our students, but Seabrook provides some fascinating details about prior times, too, like Felix Frankfurter’s opinions in the 1930s and Barbara Jordan, Curtis Graves, and Lauro Cruz’s efforts to be elected in 1960s Texas. Seabrook advocates for more non-partisan efforts and independent commissions (see map for some information). ONE PERSON, ONE VOTE has been characterized as dense and it does have a scholarly tone, but received a starred review from Library Journal. For related information on this topic, see One Person, No Vote by Carol Anderson in addition to the roughly twenty pages of sources listed in Seabrook’s extensive bibliography.