When John Adams wrote in 1776 of his vision for a representative assembly to make laws for the emerging republic, he declared it “should be in miniature, an exact portrait of the people at large.”

How exactly to pick the people’s representatives for the United States’ elected body, Congress, has been a matter of debate nearly ever since. One founder, James Madison, almost lost his spot in the first Congress because of a rival’s hand in designing Madison’s district. Today, the redrawing of congressional maps to favor a particular party or candidate – known as gerrymandering – dominates the political landscape. President Donald Trump kicked off the current partisan battles by encouraging allies in state legislatures to rework maps ahead of the typical redistricting schedule in order to

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