From Gerry-built to purpose-built: drawing electoral boundaries for unbiased outcomes

Electoral bias causes unfair election results that call into question the legitimacy of governments and undermine confidence in the integrity of the electoral system. Biased electoral outcomes in the UK, Canada and Australia are often accepted as an inherent function of a single-member system, not remediable by independent boundary commissions because they are required to work without taking partisan considerations into account. Meanwhile the US Supreme Court cannot decide on a point beyond which bias should be struck down. Those who do not accept the inevitability of unfair election outcomes see proportional representation as the solution, but the cost—loss of the representational value of single member districts—makes this a contestable solution. But if boundaries could be drawn to produce an unbiased electoral system and generate fair electoral outcomes, single-member districts could be retained and confidence could be returned. South Australia requires its independent boundaries commission to do just that, and the results indicate that fair electoral outcomes can indeed be produced