Gerrymandering erodes confidence in democracy
This erosion of legitimacy can ripple far beyond Election Day. "If they didn't win fair and square, why should I believe what they say? Why should I pay my taxes? You get an erosion of civic behavior," Bowler said.
The study also connects gerrymandering to broader perceptions of corruption. While bribery is often the image that comes to mind, Bowler calls self-serving map drawing a form of "improper benefit" that voters also instinctively see as wrong. In states with histories of political scandal, the association is even stronger.
Bowler and co-author Todd Donovan of Western Washington University in Bellingham examined how state-level conditions influence trust in elections. They used the Survey on the Performance of American Elections (SPAE), conducted by the MIT Election Data and Science Lab, which asks voters how confident they are that votes were counted as intended in their state and nationwide.