Answer :
Final answer:
Gerrymandering is the practice where packing and cracking techniques are used to manipulate district boundaries to favor the majority party in the state legislature. It undermines fair representation by concentrating or dispersing voters to secure majority-party victories. Such manipulation often results in oddly shaped districts and challenges democratic principles, so the correct option is (a).
Explanation:
The activity in which packing and cracking are used to draw district lines to favor the majority party in the state legislature is known as gerrymandering. Packing refers to concentrating the opposing party's voters into a few districts to win overwhelming margins, effectively wasting the opposition's votes in those areas. On the other hand, cracking disperses the opposing party's voters across many districts, making them a minority in each and thereby undermining their ability to influence the elections. This strategic manipulation of district boundaries ensures that the majority party maintains control and political power, often leading to districts with odd, serpentine shapes that do not reflect natural community boundaries.
While redistricting is the legitimate process of drawing electoral district boundaries, typically undertaken to reflect population changes, gerrymandering subverts this by ensuring majority-party advantage at the cost of fair representation. Certain practices of gerrymandering, especially those targeting specific minority groups, can be deemed illegal as they conflict with the Voting Rights Act, which aims to prevent the diminishment of voting strength of minorities.
Gerrymandering's primary methods, packing and cracking, are not only strategic but also controversial, as they pose a significant threat to the democratic principle of fair and equal representation. The manipulation often involves the use of advanced geo-mapping and big data technology, which enables precise targeting to achieve political ends that favor the incumbent majority party.