( CNN ) -- Nearly two centuries ago Wednesday , Massachusetts Gov . Elbridge Gerry signed an obscure redistricting law that helped his party stay in office and , more importantly , codified one of the most enduring legacies in U.S. politics : gerrymandering . The U.S. House of Represenatives , home to many beneficiaries of gerrymandering . Now a part of an American lexicon often heard in Washington 's K Street bars and among `` inside-the-beltway '' crowds , the term is seen as a combination of the governor 's name and the word `` salamander , '' because of the salamander-like shape one electoral district took on after the redistricting . Elected governor in 1810 , Gerry signed the redistricting bill two years later , enabling greater and perhaps disproportionate Republican representation in the Massachusetts legislature . The controversial move has become a favorite across the country among incumbent parties , which pack opposition voters into districts already lost in an effort to minimize the opposition 's influence over the state 's broader electorate . But some political analysts cry foul . `` In the end , democracy comes out the big loser , '' former federal prosecutor Edward Lazarus wrote in a 2004 column for CNN . `` The effect of such partisan gerrymandering is to block new entrants into high political office and to make the result of almost every congressional election a foregone conclusion . This , in turn , effectively disenfranchises all those voters who do n't support the preordained winner , '' he wrote . In 2006 , the Supreme Court threw out part of a Texas congressional map , but found the overall redistricting plan orchestrated by House Republicans acceptable . The redistricting helped Republicans in Texas defeat four Democratic congressmen in the 2004 elections . The court ruled that the redistricting plan , promoted by then-U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay , unfairly weakened the voting strength of Latinos in two congressional districts . `` A state may not trade off the rights of some members of a racial group against the rights of other members of that group , '' wrote Justice Anthony Kennedy . `` The question is therefore not whether line-drawing in the challenged area as a whole dilutes minority voting strength , but whether line-drawing dilutes the voting strength of the Latinos in [ Texas ' ] District 23 . '' The court ordered that District 23 be redrawn . States are constitutionally required to redraw congressional districts every 10 years in line with population shifts documented by the U.S. Census Bureau , a part of the Department of Commerce . This year , controversy re-emerged when President Barack Obama announced a decision to cross party lines and nominate U.S. Sen. Judd Gregg , R-New Hampshire , to run the Commerce Department . The move sparked criticism from leaders of minority groups concerned that the Census Bureau under Gregg , who voted to abolish the Commerce Department in 1995 , might lack the resources needed to accurately count minorities . The White House promised to work directly with bureau 's director to assuage those concerns , but that response drew further criticism from House Republicans concerned about greater executive influence in the Census Bureau . In a letter to the president , House Republicans Patrick McHenry and Darrell Issa described the White House as `` circumventing the secretary of commerce '' and called it `` both outrageous and unprecedented , '' suggesting the Obama administration could affect U.S. census results and congressional districting due out in 2010 . The move , they say , could insulate Democratic congressional power . The White House said it recognizes the importance of an accurate census count `` free from politicization '' and added it `` has not proposed removing the census from the Department of Commerce . '' `` From the first days of the transition , the census has been a priority for the president , and a process he wanted to re-evaluate , '' it said in an earlier statement . The method through which the Census Bureau collects data has long been a topic of partisan bickering . Republicans have generally favored the `` door-to-door '' approach , which actually is done primarily by self-enumeration through the U.S. mail . Democrats commonly prefer a statistical sampling method meant to fill in `` population gaps '' they say occur because some members of minority groups and homeless populations are missed by the door-to-door approach . A 1999 Supreme Court ruling said statistical sampling could not be applied to the redistribution of congressional seats , but it did not put gerrymandering of the political landscape entirely off limits . So , almost 200 years after Elbridge Gerry helped coin the term , gerrymandering remains a key part of American politics . CNN 's Bill Mears and Keating Holland contributed to this report .
Was coined after Republican Gov . Romney signed the law in early 2009 . Political parties can use tactic to pack opposition voters into districts already lost . Gerrymandering still a key aspect of American politics . It 's already becoming an issue with the 2010 census looming .