U.S. Congress:
Reapportionment and Redistricting
Congressional Reapportionment
• Apportionment
– Allocation of seats in the House to each state
after the census
• Redistricting
– Redrawing of district boundaries by state
legislatures
• “One person, one vote”
Redistricting Controversies
• Gerrymandering
– A district altered by the dominant legislature
party for its own electoral benefit
• Creation of “Minority-Majority districts”
– Districts drawn to maximize voting power of
minority groups, giving minority voters the
majority
– Challenged under “equal protection clause”
• As a result, several districts redrawn in 1990’s
Democrats Waive White Flag
• When Democrats
controlled the
reapportionment, they
opted for safety for
their incumbents
• Republicans put as
many Democrats as
possible into districts
that already had
Democratic
congressmen
2002 Election
2002 Elections:
Failure By Democratic Leadership
The New Democratic Leadership
• 108th Congress:
Democrats Elect
Nancy Pelosi (CA) as
head of House
Democrats
• This marks shift in the
liberal direction
• Democrats now
criticizing Bush on
economy and war