http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/31663-arizona-the-supreme-court-and-the-end-of-gerrymandering
"Fifteen years ago, back in the year 2000, voters in the state of Arizona approved a ballot measure to appoint an independent commission to decide how the state's congressional districts would be re-drawn, taking that process out of the hands of the state legislature, which at the time was GOP-controlled. They did not like that.
"Gerrymander" - Verb - To manipulate the boundaries of an electoral constituency so as to favor one party or class.
That's precisely what Arizona voters were tired of: the manipulation of district lines by partisan politicians who sought to protect elected officials who spread the butter on their side of the bread. When you have a moment, take a look at some of the grotesquely contorted district maps across the country.
Texas is a wonderful example. These districts look like Tetris pieces that were gnawed on by an angry dog ... but there is method to the seeming madness. Draw the lines just so, full in the knowledge of who votes how and where, and you can construct a congressional district that may as well have a moat along with high walls with archers standing post. Utterly unassailable in any election. In the process, you can "redistrict out" any elected officials you deem unsavory. Dennis Kucinich lost his Ohio seat in exactly this fashion. It is an old story too often repeated."
