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Gerrymandering affected 2016 election more than Russia, Clinton scandals, author says

David Daley's book "Ratf**ked"
Liveright, 2017
The first edition of David Daley's book was titled "Ratf**ked: The True Story Behind the Secret Plan to Steal America's Democracy," but it was renamed for its second edition.

If they know what it is, most people despise gerrymandering, the practice of drawing legislative or congressional districts largely based on partisan advantage. It’s hated, unless it's your party that's benefiting.

Last year, Stateside talked with David Daley, a former editor-in-chief of Salon and the author of Ratf**ked:Why Your Vote Doesn't Count, a book that deals with this very issue. Stateside? host Lester Graham caught up with him to discuss the second edition's new epilogue on the 2016 election.

"Michigan is one of the most gerrymandered states in America," Daley said. "Republicans drew masterful lines after the 2010 elections when they took control of the entire state ... they were able to draw exactly the lines they wanted without any Democrats in the room."

The 2016 election cracked the Democrats’ “blue wall” of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Michigan. They all went for Republican Donald Trump.

"There's a reason why of the 22 states that had new voter ID laws on the books for the 2016 elections, 21 were controlled by Republican legislatures," Daley said.

More than Clinton scandals or Russian hacking, Daley argues gerrymandering had the greatest impact on the 2016 election.

Listen to the full conversation above.

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