The Supreme Court ruled on two cases concerning gerrymandering today, allowing challenged maps in two states to stand for now.

Gerrymandering is why election maps across the country can look so crazy. Politicians manipulate boundaries to favor one party or another.

The history of gerrymandering goes back more than 200 years.

The term comes from a salamander-shaped district in Massachusetts drawn during the 1810 term of Gov. Elbridge Gerry (Gerrymander is a mash-up of Gerry and salamander.)

Learn more about the history of gerrymandering in the video below: