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| The “Gerry-Mander”: a famous political cartoon by Elkanah Tisdale that was originally published in the March 26, 1812 issue of the Boston Gazette. The cartoon illustrates Governor Elbridge Gerry’s practice of unfair boundary manipulation in Essex County’s state senatorial district. |
The State Library holds within its collection several Massachusetts district maps, many of which are digitized and available online. These maps are often requested by researchers who are interested in learning how Massachusetts congressional and state legislative (senatorial and representative) voting districts were divided at certain points in time. Changes to district boundaries, also known as redistricting, must first pass through the legislature; they must also adhere to federal and state constitutional laws, which exist to prevent unfair manipulation of boundaries in order to create political advantages and election outcomes—a practice known as “gerrymandering.”
There are currently 27 maps and 2 booklets in the Library’s online collection, which span from 1842 to 2020. If you are curious about proposed and/or approved boundary changes that are not represented in this collection, try keyword searching the Acts and Resolves or Legislative Documents for related laws, bills and reports.
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| Map of senatorial districts of Massachusetts, as established by the legislature of 1886: with population and legal voters, according to census of 1885. |
In addition, the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Elections Division website is where you can find the most current information regarding voting and other types of districts, such as the Governor’s Councillor, District Attorney, and Register of Deeds districts. If you have any questions about maps or other items in the Library’s collections, send us a message via email at reference.department@mass.gov or call us at 617-727-2590.
Kaitlin Connolly
Reference Department
