In both New York and California, redistricting is handled by an independent redistricting commission. Although lawmakers in New York attempted to circumnavigate the commission to push through a map that benefited Democrats, courts ultimately struck down the gerrymander and the state adopted maps very similar to those drawn by Cervas himself, who was appointed to draw neutral maps for the state.

This is how the parties ended up with the current situation: few competitive districts with many of them concentrated in just two states, New York and California. While most good government advocates would say that eliminating gerrymandering is a positive development in these states, it could disadvantage Democrats because Republican-led states did not eliminate gerrymandering.

So basically: Cheating gives Republicans an advantage.